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Life Changes

Maybe today is the day you are digging a bit deeper to muster some courage.

Maybe now is a time you must determine to speak up, or let the moment pass – either way – for the sake of peace.

Maybe a person or situation appears stronger than you can handle, and a prayer for courage has been released.

Know that courage always is within you. Yes, illusive at times – yet always within you.

People don’t often give themselves the credit they deserve on how much they are coping with throughout the days and years.

Let’s take one day in life, where you’ve made a long list of things to accomplish. It may list 40 “things to do” and you accomplish 35. Not everything takes the same amount of energy expended – or courage. So we can tend to be hard on ourselves for those items on the list that have gone undone until another day.

Let’s look at what you might be missing. Look at all you did that’s not on a daily “written” list – such as being a great mom, dad or friend. Maybe today is the day you helped someone else conquer a fear and find their courage. And maybe today’s one of those times you would feel refreshed to hear some validation about your own abilities, talents and gifts in this world.

Courage comes in many shapes and sizes. It does not have to be loud to be heard. Courage is needed in both the darkness and the light.

Did you ever notice that “courage” is a part of the word “encourage”? And how the least suspecting people often are the ones that encourage you in some meaningful way – if but a smile? That smile is like someone along the side of the road during a marathon, cheering you on in their own way.

Drink it in. Refresh yourself. Feel your endurance and encouragement escalate, while propelling you onward.

One courageous moment that often gets missed, is the one where you surrender to what’s unfolding right in front of you – versus trying to control everything about another person, or the situation.

Surrender does not need to mean putting up a white flag and giving in to something you don’t believe in. Surrendering to actually be “in the moment” and walk through that moment can take some of the greatest courage and faith.

I’ve found some of the greatest gifts in those times. Have you?

May you believe in yourself during some of the most difficult days you experience. May you find that courage is a well that never runs dry within you. May you tap into the resources of this universe that support your good health and purposeful work. May you always feel the “need to succeed” for other people, as much as yourself.

Encourage. Embrace. Be courageous enough to be in this moment. I believe in you. So do so many others around you. Notice their smiles of encouragement in the crowd along your way.

Langley’s column can be read the first Sunday of each month.

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