#9: Introducing April's theme: Courage

"Courage, dear heart." C.S. Lewis

Here we are, it’s the last day of March, we’re stepping into April, and it’s time to soak in all of the balance that we have been nurturing (or scrambling around for) over the past month. It’s time to allow ourselves to gently move our focus towards our new theme: Courage.

Right now, it takes huge amounts of courage, doesn’t it, to be fully alive and to stay open-hearted?

When we think of all of the things going on in the world and the challenges that so many of us face in our day-to-day lives, it’s not hard to see why we, reportedly, live increasingly unhappy and discontented lives.

And the struggle is real, friends! You don’t need me to tell you about the juggling of competing responsibilities and demands, while still making space to dream, to breathe, to be.

Interestingly, our sense of courage not only comes from the heart, but the word itself is derived from the Latin ‘cor’, the root word for heart, said to mean: “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”

And it’s very much a conversation, isn’t it? When we’re searching for courage, wondering if we have what it takes to do what needs to be done.

The quote: “Courage, dear heart,” for those that don’t know, is a line taken from C.S. Lewis’ epic childhood fantasy adventure series The Chronicles of Narnia. One of my all-time favourite magical stories.

Those three simple words are heard by the young character, Lucy, as a whisper, and she is sure that it is the voice of Aslan, the mighty lion, who is said to represent Jesus Christ, at least according to its creator, C.S. Lewis.

The stories are seasoned with so many beautiful and universal spiritual metaphors, relevant to all creeds and beliefs, and so, if you haven’t already read any of the books, then I encourage you to do so.

But the most important thing here is about noticing the voice in our hearts, no matter to who or what we attribute the voice, and I think we all have some experience of hearing, or feeling, a sense of courage coming from our hearts.

So where am I going with this?

Good question.

Well, the other day, I came across another powerful sentence, this time by Mary Anne Radmacher:

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.’ ”

SSPhoto by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Which, I think, works perfectly for so many of us. With our often unseen courageous moments: the ones that others know absolutely nothing about.

These are the ones I am most interested in and these are the moments of courage that we shall explore together.

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So, in this month’s letters, you can expect to read quite a bit about lions. After all, they are synonymous with the idea of courage. And let’s not forget about the lion in The Wizard Of Oz, and his desire to be brave.

In Yoga and Indian culture, too, there are many references to lions, and the qualities of courage (virya). So there is a lot to work with.

I shall also be pulling, quite heavily, from the work of Brene Brown, and again, there’s a fantastic show by Brene on Netflix that I encourage you to watch. And if you’ve already seen it, re-watch it!

We’ll be deep-diving into the concept of courage, and what it means to us individually, and why it is crucially important in today’s world—more than ever—to know and understand what courage means to you and how you are going to implement it in your life.

So, go ahead and read, re-read, watch and re-watch anything that, for you, holds the concept of courage at its heart.

There will be the usual breathing practice for everybody to try, and the journal prompts for paying subscribers, as well as a whole lot more, and I am really excited to be sharing it all with you. Thank you, so much, for being here.

Lastly, in preparation for this month’s theme, I was taken back to a Tara Brach talk all about courage, and, in it, she poses the question:

“What does it mean to be courageous in this moment?”

And, that’s what I’d like to leave you with today. Just that thought. Something for you to mull over.

As ever, I encourage you to grab your journals, notebooks and sketch pads, to explore it further. I invite you to come to this question in your private moments. Notice how it feels when you are courageous. Particularly when others have no idea that it is courage you are searching for, digging for, and materializing from god knows where.

Notice when, for you, courage is a “quiet voice”, and when it is a “roar”.

Notice the voice inside your heart, and listen out for the whisper that encourages you to be couragous.

With love, peace and endless kindness,

Louisa

P.S.

The comments are open to everybody, so please feel free to share your thoughts. And, as ever, I welcome emails and messages if you’d prefer to share something with me more privately.

Please, please, please (yes, I am begging you) feel free to share The Yoga Letters with anyone who you think may like to read it. I am also on the hunt for podcast guests, so if you know anyone, please get in touch and let me know.

By the way, sharing to five of your friends, and them subscribing, grants you a free 6-month full subscription. Giving you access to everything, including the Guided Journals. Just let me know who you’ve shared my work with and I will make sure that you start receiving the whole shebang.

Oh, and here’s this month’s playlist for your beautiful ears.

xxx