The Way of this Enneagram Six

Sometimes self-awareness presents itself in my life as a blessing; sometimes it is a royal pain in the ass. As I walk through this time in my life, this time in the life of our country, I feel open. I am keenly aware of my emotions, and I’m aware of my physical experience. Frequently, I have nervous energy to manage; sometimes there is numbness that is perhaps protecting me from it all being too much. Lately, there’s a settled feeling that appears to flow from a faith in myself I’ve been working to develop for years – okay, for decades.

What I know, deep down, is that now is the perfect time to sink into cultivating my inner courage. Perhaps it is for you too. The passage below from John O’Donohue rings totally true to me. May his writing spark inner courage in all of us.

“In our day to day lives, we often show courage without realizing it. However, it is only when we are afraid that courage becomes a question. Courage is amazing because it can tap into the heart of fear, taking that frightened energy and turning it towards initiative, creativity, action and hope. When courage comes alive, imprisoning walls become frontiers of new possibility, difficulty becomes invitation and the heart comes into a new rhythm of trust and sureness. There are secret sources of courage inside every human heart; yet courage needs to be awakened in us. Courage is the spark that can become the flame of hope, lighting new and exciting pathways in what seemed to be dead, dark landscapes.”