Courage to Awaken~

“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.”
— Pema Chödrön
As I sit down to write this week’s reflection, I find myself returning to this quote by Pema Chödrön.
Last spring, I watched baby birds hatch just outside my window. I remember the day they first left the nest. I had grown used to seeing their tiny heads peeking over the edge, their mother returning faithfully with food. The nest felt safe. Contained. Certain.
And then one day, one by one, they were gone.
I remember the moment one of them hesitated at the edge, the runt of the group, small body, uncertain wings… and then he leapt. Even though he may not have been ready, he knew he could not stay. I was so lucky to watch it happen.
Now, as I write this, I think about the many times in my own life when I had to be pushed out of the nest. Times when I was stuck. Comfortable in patterns that no longer fit. Going through life with blinders on.
In February, I’ve been reflecting on the Courage to Rise and what it takes to find it.
But here’s the truth: sometimes you don’t “find” courage at all.
Sometimes you are thrust so abruptly out of the nest that courage grabs hold of you before you even realize it’s there.
That is how courage found me almost seven years ago.
I was on my knees, stuck in fear, trapped in patterns that kept me small. I didn’t feel brave or strong. I felt defeated, yet desperate to believe there had to be something on the other side of fear.
So I asked God for courage.
And then… the message came that shook me so fully awake that courage was the only thing left standing.
There are moments in life when awakening doesn’t feel gentle. It feels like falling. Like losing the safety of what you once called home.
Maybe that’s what Pema means.
To be fully alive is not to remain in the nest.
It is to risk the air.
To feel the wind.
To discover that wings were there all along.
Maybe courage isn’t something we manufacture.
Maybe it’s something that meets us mid-air.

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