spiritual bravery

"spiritual bravery is about not letting fear be in charge of you.  you move forward anyway, even though you are scared.  in fact, it's an aspect of spiritual bravery to explore your fear instead of attempting to suppress it.  when you do this regularly, you begin to trust that you will still be standing after the fear moves through you.

it is an act of spiritual bravery to feel all our emotions instead of running away; to speak our authentic truth, and to choose to remain vulnerable instead of armoring up.  having the courage to bear witness to the pain of the world with an open heart takes spiritual courage."  --trudy goodman

what have you done lately that's scared you in a good way?  my younger friend calls this being "scited" (scared + excited).

for me, it was signing up for speed dating at a local event venue as a 49-year old woman.  while it didn't bring any matches of men for future dates, it ended up being a quite enjoyable evening of meeting people.

i've also shifted perspective slightly in terms of things like grief and facing into things that are uncomfortable.  i used to think i had to steel myself to "get through them" and now i imagine them moving through me at a sustainable pace, depositing their treasures and invitations.  it's a softer approach.  

guarding my heart doesn't mean armoring up, it means regular check-ins and maintenance to keep it strong yet soft, removing any elements of hardness that may be tempted to take up residence.  pluck them early, like weeds from the garden:  more work up front perhaps, but well worth it in the end.