Courage.

'Grrr! Put ‘em up. Put ‘em up. I’ll fight you with hand behind my back even!'

And so spoke the ‘Cowardly Lion’ in the wonderful movie called The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, in which she played probably her most well-known role, that of Dorothy. And as you may well remember the so-called Cowardly Lion continued to utter more threats and act with greater bravado, seeking to intimidate the small band of travellers who'd unwittingly crossed his path.  And… it all seemed to be working quite well for him, as all around were cowering in his presence, that was until he turned his attention to Dorothy’s little dog Toto. At the fateful moment when he began to pick on Toto he reached a Meggido in his life, a point of decision that would turn the tide of the confrontation. Dorothy, who had hitherto been unable to stand up for herself in the face of his terrible pronouncements suddenly turned upon the fearsome lion in defence of her dog ...and she gave him a sharp slap. Whack! And guess what? The fearsome lion begin to cry. ‘Whadja do that for’…he whined.

What wisdom there was in the mind of L. Frank Baum when he wrote this amazing story. How true to life this confrontation was. How often can a person discover that they are indeed courageous, even when they’re afraid! In fact sometimes a person has to be afraid in order to discover just how courageous they really are. Maybe though you never thought about it like this before?

Consider: at first Dorothy was just as afraid of the lion as where her companions… until something significant happened (the lion turned on Toto) which meant that in spite of her natural fear at the sight of Toto’s predicament, she responded in his defence and this act turned her into a courageous person… a courageous person who, while afraid, nevertheless acted despite her fear against a seemingly more powerful opponent.  And as a result, the circumstances changed entirely.  As we all know, the Cowardly Lion changed his attitude towards his hitherto ‘victims’ and joined their group, becoming a companion… turning into quite a 'nice chap' in the process and sharing many adventures in the journey to Oz with his newfound friends.  What's more, as the story developed he too eventually discovered his own real courage (not to be confused with his previous bullying behaviour, which we all know was based on cowardice: bullies only ever pick on people they feel have little or no chance of responding).

Dorothy's example demonstrates to us that she actually really always had the reserves of courage that she required, inside, but… it took the right kind of catalyst to bring about the reaction she needed to reach the point where she felt motivated enough to respond in a courageous way (in this case standing up to a bully).

Let’s take another look at the principle of courage.

Was Bruce Lee courageous? Yes, I’d agree that Bruce was a courageous person, for many reasons, perhaps though not for those that are most obvious.  Early in his career Bruce badly injured his back, which nearly put an end to things for him.  But he worked his way back to health, through sheer strength of character (and the support of his wife Linda Lee).  This in itself was an incredible act of courage and determination.  But perhaps his greatest battle was emotional.  After becoming massively famous in Asia for his kung-fu movies, Bruce Lee landed the lead role in a jointly produced Chinese-American movie called Enter The Dragon. Bruce had a lot invested emotionally in this movie. If it worked out he'd be a star all around the world.  However, if he performed badly it could be 'all over' for him, at least as far as his dreams of success in the West were concerned.  Not many people know this, but due to this intense pressure, nerves actually got to the kung-fu super-man and, as a result, the filming of Enter The Dragon was held up.  However, Bruce successfully fought perhaps the toughest battle of his life.  Not against another opponent, but against himself, against his fears... and he won.  And as a result of this profound victory he went on to film the most memorable, iconic kung-fu movie in the voluminous history of movies, making him (still today) the biggest martial arts star of them all!

Let me share a memorable experience from my own life in which I was deeply afraid, but nevertheless didn't give in to my fears:  Back in 1987 I was attending a spiritual seminar which was being held in Southern England, at a Holiday Park called Camber Sands. The seminar organisers had hired the entire holiday park for the event so all of the chalets and mobile homes (trailers for American readers) were filled with delegates.  As a delegate I was therefore staying in one of the mobile homes on the holiday park too.  On the fateful morning of October 16th a hurricane struck Southern England and in the process the holiday park which was situated right on the South Coast was hit - full force - by the storm and as a result the mobile home I was staying in was literally picked up and thrown through the air (with me inside it) as it was blown to pieces.

I count my ‘lucky stars’ so to speak because I was fortunate to land, miraculously, softly, on a patch of wet grass, unharmed.  My car had been crushed by the flying mobile home.  A wall had been knocked down too.  And the mobile home itself had shattered in the process, becoming matchwood.  Sadly, another delegate with whom I was sharing the mobile home was not so fortunate. He was trapped somewhere beneath all of the rubble.

Meanwhile, the hurricane force winds were by this time picking up parts of the very fabric of the broken mobile home and they were now flying around me in the air, themselves akin to deadly javelins that could quite easily kill me if they struck me. I was dazed as I picked myself up off of the floor and everything inside of me wanted me to run away to safety. Well, almost everything: another part of me knew that my friend was trapped in the rubble - so I remained where I was and I began to call his name and search for him. To be sure: I was very afraid. I was being faced with the imminent possibility that although I’d clearly just escaped death, death was still lurking close by in the form of hurricane force winds and javelin-like pieces of wood flying around me at great speed. But somehow I stayed where I was, looking, searching and calling out for my friend. Eventually it was he himself who freed himself as he climbed out from under the debris that was left over from the broken trailer. I helped him to reach a safe place and then I ran through the hurricane force winds down to the 24-hour reception area located at the entrance to the holiday park.

I informed the security guard about what had just happened and together we drove in his car to the scene of the carnage. The security guard gave instructions that all of the mobile homes should be evacuated so he and I began knocking on the doors, helping others to retreat to the main (brick-solid) auditorium. In one trailer I encountered a young lone woman so I waited for her to get dressed (it was about 6AM in the morning) and then took her, with her arm linked tightly to mine, in order to withstand the fearsome winds, to the safety of auditorium. At which point I too remained inside. And through all this I’m not afraid to tell you I was very afraid.

Anyway, by this time the auditorium was full. The evacuation was complete.  Then 'it all caught up with me'. I was drained. Soon afterwards I was taken to hospital by ambulance for a check-up to ensure I hadn't sustained any serious injuries.  Looking back I remember that when I was outside amongst the hurricane force winds I was afraid of impending death or injury.  I remember to this day too that I would rather have gone immediately to the relative safety of the auditorium, after picking myself up off of the ground, letting others do the rescuing. But something inside me wouldn’t allow it. When confronted by extreme fear something inside me made me act in a courageous way, in spite of my fears, in spite of the hurricane that had nearly killed me.

How many of us have confused fearlessness with courage? How many think that brave people are never afraid? I think that this misconception has created a source of confusion which has blinded people to noticing the natural courage that they possess. Maybe including you?

Courage can manifest in many ways.  For example, I wonder how many people reading this have applied for a job interview and noticed that they felt some ‘pre-interview nerves’ along the way but they followed through regardless? I have.  Maybe you too? Turning up for the interview means that you confronted your fears and are courageous.

Likewise, did you really look forward to taking your driving test?  Maybe you noticed some so-called ‘pre test nerves’, nerves which caused you to ask yourself ridiculous questions at the last minute like: ‘Do I really need to drive?  Perhaps I prefer travelling by bus?'.  Nevertheless, however hard fear tried to coerce you into giving up, in spite of how your felt you didn't give in.  And as a result of your fortitude, your courage, a whole new world of opportunity opened up to you when you passed your driving test.

But, consider this… I wonder how many of us have hitherto considered such unwanted emotional responses that we've all felt in situations of this kind and thought to ourselves something like: ‘There you go, I was afraid again. I’m just not courageous.  I'm a coward.’? How many of us have looked at such situations from the wrong perspective and mislead ourselves regarding the meaning of the situation? Quite a few I expect.

Take a moment to think about it properly now: how often have you really been courageous in your life?  Probably many times.  Have you ever gone for an interview?  You're courageous.  Have you ever asked someone for a date?  Your courageous.  Have you ever enrolled on a training course?  You're courageous.  Have you ever stood up for yourself in some way? You're courageous. Have you ever chosen to walk away from a situation that wasn't good for you, but which still took strength to do so?  You're courageous.

You know, I believe that the greatest courage is often displayed when a person is most afraid. And if you take a moment to think about this too you’ll notice the truth in the statement. If a person is afraid, yet they continue to take positive action and do what needs to be done, it demonstrates incredible courage. Someone who has no fear is not necessarily courageous, they’re just fearless (and that’s probably something of a handicap, because with fearlessness often goes foolhardiness).

Everyone has wanted to avoid some potentially unpleasant event at some time in their lives (remember Bruce Lee).  Even Jesus prayed in earnest to be spared his forthcoming crucifixion (by the way, accounts like this make Jesus very real to me). Can you blame him? I often remember this example and I empathise with him.  Most shamans, mystics and healers too experience what's known as 'The Dark Night of the Soul' in which their resources are tested to the full, during which they confront all of their worst fears and sometimes their fears temporarily win, causing them to experience anxiety, despondency and low morale, but because, overall, they don't give up they return to the challenge with their eye on the bigger picture, on the goal and as a result they win the greater victory (they become acknowledged shamans, mystics and healers).

It's important to remember that courage will often take you beyond where mere confidence will go. What’s more, a person can even lack confidence in a given situation and still be courageous (think about it and you'll discover it's true).  With this in mind, maybe it's time for you to reappraise yourself? Maybe now is the time to begin to remember all of the natural acts of courage that you’ve evidenced so many times in the past? And maybe today is a good day to make a note to remember that even if sometime in the future you encounter a situation in which you notice some feelings of fear, despite this... or in spite of this you can still do what you want to do, meaning that you are, therefore, in the process, being courageous again.

The Wizard of Oz is just a magical story.  A beautiful one, but a story none the less.  However, you've evidenced real courage in your life more times than you can count.  And that's truly magical.  Remember this.