Food for Thought

"Fearlessness is the first requirement of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral." Mahatma Gandhi

"If distressing emotions such as anger were in the very nature of the mind, then from its inception the mind would always have to be angry. Obviously, this is not so. Only under certain circumstances do we become angry." Dahlai Lama

A couple of really good quotes to start the week off. We have all heard of "the angry young man" who flails at everything and is always angry. It is a nice stereotype but there are times when even the angriest of people do need to calm down. It is impossible to be in the state of anger and sleep for instance. The mind has to be tranquil and calm in order for sleep to come.

I especially like the Gandhi quote. Cowardice comes in so many forms. One of the worst type of cowardice is seen on the web in newsgroups. We have all seen the anonymous troll who attacks people because they are too cowardly to use their real name. Or we see someone who will stoop to the level of attacking a person's god children because he objects to another person's religious beliefs. How cowardly can you get to attack innocent children? I use my real name when I post and I don't say anything I wouldn't say to a person's face. I say what I mean and I mean what I say.

Cowardice can also be seen by silence. If you see a situation that is not right but you are afraid to open your mouth and say something then you are a coward. You can not see injustice being done and keep silent. If you truly believe in God, however you see him/her then you need to speak up when you see something that is wrong being done. I won't say that there won't be consequences from speaking up but for the sake of your own well being you must do what is right.

So here is to courage. May you find the courage within yourself to be able to have the fearlessness to speak up when you see something that is wrong. In my story Phoenix Rising one of my most powerful characters, Queen Niri, said this about courage:

"I once asked my father what was wisdom and courage and how do you find them," Queen Niri said. "He told me 'wisdom is understanding real fear. Stupidity is ignoring real fear. Courage is overcoming real fear. Cowardice is giving in to imaginary fear. You will find courage when you allow something to be more important then yourself.' I have never forgotten that."

The picture is called The Queen.