Am I bold? Am I daring?  Is it even important if I am bold or daring? I believe that it is important. Some definitions of being bold include: fearless, presumptuous, moving beyond fear, courageous, outside of the norm, defiant, brazen… And definitions of daring? Audacious, adventurous, willing to go beyond the norm…

I am bold and daring. I got out of bed today without knowing, really knowing, what would lie ahead, I said, “this is the best day ever.” I stepped forward and knew the floor would support me. I opened a carton of eggs, and trusted that they would be good and nourish me. I got in my car, not knowing who would drive around the next corner or if they would even stay in their lane. I do many simple things everyday of great courage.  Perhaps another word for bold or daring is walking in faith and trust. We know that we know.

It’s easy and natural and we do not think of it is a daring or bold to do the things I mentioned, because we’ve proved them to ourselves the majority of the time. We seem to know for a certainty that we can expect the same results.

However, then when we are prompted or moved to step beyond those things we are confident in, we sometimes hesitate. We do not want to move out of our comfort zone. This takes boldness and courage, and just like we do all the seeming simple things everyday, with trust and faith, we can move into the new the same way. The same laws apply. As we believe, so it is!

I’ve done things that might seem bolder and more daring, like leaving the place I grew up in and choosing to move across a continent, or giving birth to three children, or coming here to Kaua’i and daring to start a Center for Spiritual Living. I think I do many bold and daring things everyday because I live and because I dare to walk confidently in the direction of my dreams.  As Henry David Thoreau put it, “If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Being bold, daring and courageous are the necessary attributes of those of us who want to evolve spiritually. As the  Sadasivanathaswami of the Hindu Monastery once said, the spiritual life is a difficult life.

It takes great courage to look beyond appearances, and yet if we do not, we will continue to create the same thing over and over. It takes boldness to live in the unknown. It takes boldness and courage to believe in something before we can see it. These are all attributes of those on the ever-evolving spiritual path. The rewards are beyond our expectations because we do meet with success unexpected in common hours. We also walk through the dark, if it comes, with light and power because we realize there is a gift there, something that we have to gain and grow from.

Being bold is doing something even though we are afraid. We might be afraid of condemnation or failure or loosing something or someone. We do it anyway because we have to. There is a scene in the Wizard of Oz between the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard. It goes like this:

Wizard: Not having fear isn’t brave, it’s foolhardy. Any real hero knows fear.
Cowardly Lion: I’ll tell you one thing though, so does a real coward.
Wizard: The difference is a hero masters his fear.

The only reason that we fear is because we do not trust Life. We do not trust ourselves. We do not trust in the Power that we say we believe in. Courage is defined as “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.”  

The operative phrase for me is “state or quality of mind or spirit.” We can all develop a state of mind or spirit. So, the objective is not to get fearless, it is to work on our faith. It is to build our faith, not by waiting to prove something before we believe it, but to identify and embrace that thing which lies await within each of us that is always available. It’s desire is to express through us. It is the very breath in us and we can rely on it.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita