2011 is my year of Courageous Exploration. Ever since I became an empty nester, I have been truly struggling with where to place my “next nest”. The easy route would be to stay put with my mom and continue in my status-quo, comfortable life. The more difficult road, and clearly the more fulfilling one, would be to explore and find where I really belong.
So, I decided to start slowly by exploring the word “courage”. The Google definition of courage is: “the quality of mind or spirit … that enables a person to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.”
In reading this definition, I knew that I was heading in the right direction. I knew wholeheartedly, that I have “courage” and I also knew that I would have to be brave, dig deep and stay on course to find the right road for myself.
It is so easy for me to get side tracked with different projects, travel, books, recipes, and workshops. For me, this work takes a great deal of mental stamina to keep focused, and it takes great deal of effort to keep the fear of the unknown under control.
Interestingly, when I looked further into the word courage, I found at its root the word “cor” – the Latin word for heart. And, I found an obsolete definition of courage as “the heart as the source of emotion”. Courage originally meant “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart”!
Now I find myself wanting to be brave enough to listen to what my heart is telling me. And, I want to listen carefully to help determine which is the best way to go. Thinking about courage as “bravery and listening to my heart” seems like a more balanced source from which to gather strength. When I do let my heart speak, I am being naturally courageous and confidently move forward in new directions.
By allowing both my head and my heart to participate in this process, numerous exciting options are bound to percolate upward. I am comforted with this realization and I am energized about this life-changing process. Now I feel more prepared to begin the journey of exploring where to place my next nest … so many possibilities!
Related Articles
- What to Do When the Nest Becomes Empty (abcnews.go.com)
- 10 Women’s Quotes on Courage (psychologytoday.com)