The Spirit of Courage

"When you have no choice, mobilize the spirit of courage." - Fortune Cookie

I'm not sure what to think of the first half of this bit of advice. We always have a choice.If I consider it a matter of semantics and read it to mean "When it seems you have no other choice..." then the narrative flows better, it gives me permission to make a choice, other than to sit there and accept my fate. So I look at the second half: "Mobilze the spirit of courage."

Mobilize. Move. Act upon your circumstances, rather than have your circumstances act upon you. Advice easier said than followed.

I am an analyzer. As I type that, I can visualize the smirks on the faces of family and closest friends; I can hear them saying things like, "You're just now figuring this out?" Ha ha, wisenheimmers. May I continue?

I am an analyzer. I take things apart in my mind, put them back together, take them apart again. Drive my loved ones bonkers in the process. "Move on!" is the counsel I most often receive. And I do, but at my own speed, seldom satisfactory for others. I'm okay with that. It's the analysis that, at a snail's pace, brings me understanding and acceptance, even if I am the only one who sees it. Although I strongly dislike the term "analysis paralysis", it is appropriate to use here because I am guilty of it. And it keeps me stuck in neutral, or in park, but I prefer it to the overdrive of forging ahead without considering whose feelings I plow over in the process. Keeping moving is a good thing, but the problems stay with us, locked in the trunk where we've stowed them. I want to find the speed and gear which will get me to where I need to be.

 So I wish to specifically mobilize the spirit of courage. I wish to face my challenges (a much better word than "problems") with courage. To look them straight in the face, acknowledging the ugly truth it might be my own face looking at me. That's a choice I always have, and it might take some time. But I think it will always be worth it.