In the early 70’s in Santiago de Chile, a young man broke into his brother-in-law’s home, set a fire in the back yard, and burned his entire library.
Forty years later, my uncle told me that while he still missed some of his books (a robust collection of marxist theory and leftist politics), he’s eternally grateful to my dad for that intervention that may or may not have saved him from being arrested, tortured, or killed.
He’ll never know if that was an overreaction, but he’s so glad my dad erred on the side of caution. Because whether or not the risk was real that night, my dad chose to act in love and courage.
I’m not saying the U.S. is on the brink of a dictatorship like the one we had in Chile, or that we should start hiding our books. But if you’re kinda freaked out by the last week, you’re not alone.
And when uncertainty is in the air, one thing history teaches us is that courage isn’t something we find after things get bad—it’s something we practice beforehand, so that we are always ready to care for and protect each other as all decent humans always should.
I don’t mean this in the “sending good vibes way”, like this:
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Although the bears are adorable and I usually do send out good vibes like that.
I mean it in the way that my dad decided to care for and protect my uncle.
Because courage—real courage—doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It comes from somewhere. For me, it’s the direct outcome of having a strong spiritual practice:
- Of knowing myself well enough to know my values and how far I’m willing to go for them;
- Of having a practice of telling the true thing, even if it’s difficult, because speaking truth is the path of liberation;
- Of having clear guidance from transcendent wisdom that I can access because I’ve been in relationship with it for close to half a century, and many lifetimes beforehand.
You don’t get balls of steel overnight. Courage (as I define it, acting from the heart, from the french “coeur”) is a practice that allows you to strengthen your resolve, know what matters, and stand by it.
And that’s the work we all have to do—not just for ourselves, but for the people who will need our protection and care.
So let me ask you: What’s one action you can take today to strengthen your courage? Who in your life needs your protection and care?
Building courage is part of the spiritual work I guide people through—learning to reconnect with themselves, their values, and the transcendent wisdom that’s always been with them.
If you’re ready to walk the path of courage and care—for yourself and the world around you—I’d love to support you.