Good afternoon, Chaverim,
This quote seemed to me to be particularly relevant for this week in which we saw examples of both great moral courage as well as examples of what happens when it is lacking…
Here is today’s Gratitude Thought in the Middle of a Pandemic:
“Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically – kind, fair, true, generous – but to be that time after time, you need courage.”
Maya Angelou
I think it has always taken courage to attempt to live in alignment with one’s values…though these days it somehow feels as if it is a greater challenge…and doing so consistently an even greater challenge. I think we all have this kind of courage within us, but how do we access it consistently? In Mussar study we talk about “bechirah”, or choice, points…that place where what we know is the “right thing to do” may conflict with what we “want to do”. These choice points are where the courage to make that “right” choice comes in and we “practice” making these “right” choices over and over again on our life long journey to live lives of holiness, lives of “virtue”, lives in alignment with our values. The hope/goal is that one day those “right” choices will become habits, a way of life that “time after time” draws our hearts and souls, so that the “right” choices do not require courage at all.
In the meantime, until we get there, individually and as a world community, I wish all of us the courage of our convictions, the courage to stand up for our beliefs, the courage to make the choice to “do the right thing” as often as we possibly can (never forgetting to practice self-compassion and forgiveness when we miss the mark!).
Shabbat Shalom to all,
Marci
