Courage!
I was reading an interview with a monk posted to the Orthodoxy community and an entry in louiseroho's journal, and I found myself thinking about the lack of courage in our daily lives.
It manifests in so many ways. For example, I am often so frightened of talking to strangers that I will do almost anything to avoid speaking on the phone to them, or saying anything to anyone that could be perceived as rude or forward. This has caused many spiritual and material difficulties in my life. I am courageous in some ways. I will not stand silent while someone else is hurt or insulted, for example, at least most of the time. (Note that my only manifestation of courage is not absolute!)
Speaking out is, to me, is a religious matter: God doesn't want us hurting each other and he does want us to defend each other. However, I'm beginning to see that the first instance is a religious matter, too. Letting anxiety get the better of me makes me a slave. Doesn't St. Paul say, in one of the readings in the Triodion, "I will not be a slave to anything"?
A lack of courage is, in its own way, a failure of abstinence, isn't it?
Courage is one of my particular journeys, but there are so many others. I am glad that I was raised in a tradition that values asceticism. There is so much value in denying oneself the little spiritual and physical indulgences that are so easy to slip into. These are the same ones that distance me so much from myself and from God.
I do think that a lack of courage - of love in action - on the part of parents and spiritual leaders is one reason that some children don't have genuine spiritual experiences that nurture them throughout their lives. Children, especially young children, learn by example, and we all tend to model our social groups. Thus, they are taught to be judgmental and not compassionate, to give in and give up and not to develop inner strength. In short, they are taught by us, by me and others like me, to take the easy road and not to strive. They too, then, become separated from themselves and from God.
It manifests in so many ways. For example, I am often so frightened of talking to strangers that I will do almost anything to avoid speaking on the phone to them, or saying anything to anyone that could be perceived as rude or forward. This has caused many spiritual and material difficulties in my life. I am courageous in some ways. I will not stand silent while someone else is hurt or insulted, for example, at least most of the time. (Note that my only manifestation of courage is not absolute!)
Speaking out is, to me, is a religious matter: God doesn't want us hurting each other and he does want us to defend each other. However, I'm beginning to see that the first instance is a religious matter, too. Letting anxiety get the better of me makes me a slave. Doesn't St. Paul say, in one of the readings in the Triodion, "I will not be a slave to anything"?
A lack of courage is, in its own way, a failure of abstinence, isn't it?
Courage is one of my particular journeys, but there are so many others. I am glad that I was raised in a tradition that values asceticism. There is so much value in denying oneself the little spiritual and physical indulgences that are so easy to slip into. These are the same ones that distance me so much from myself and from God.
I do think that a lack of courage - of love in action - on the part of parents and spiritual leaders is one reason that some children don't have genuine spiritual experiences that nurture them throughout their lives. Children, especially young children, learn by example, and we all tend to model our social groups. Thus, they are taught to be judgmental and not compassionate, to give in and give up and not to develop inner strength. In short, they are taught by us, by me and others like me, to take the easy road and not to strive. They too, then, become separated from themselves and from God.