“Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.” -Eckhart Tolle

Courage is a theme that has been coming up for me the last few weeks. What I’ve been reminded of is that courage isn’t always taking a risk oriented action, but courage has a lot to do with how you show up to moments that are painful and uncomfortable. Courage is sitting in the present moment when you want to run, escape or numb. Courage is looking directly at your fear, disappointment and pain and then being willing to show up to yourself with compassion, grace and the question, “What is this here to teach me?” It takes courage to accept life as it unfolds.

I’ve been reading “The Language of Letting Go” by Melody Beattie. One of the many pieces of wisdom that I’ve gleaned from her writing is that there is tremendous strength and peace to be found in surrendering when things feel difficult or unknown, and to claim with confidence, “I trust the timing of my life.” We can trust that although we may not be able to see or understand the full picture of what we are going through now, we can show up courageously and with dignity, to our lives. We can trust that there is something being worked out in us, in someone else or in the universe when things don’t go as planned. As Melody says, “Waiting time is not wasted time.” In the waiting we do what we need to do to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually. Then, we put attention towards showing up in the world as the person we most want to be. This after all as Mary Oliver so beautifully stated, is our “one wild and precious life.” We are right where we are meant to be. May each of us choose to accept our lives and circumstances and meet them courageously and with love.