Learn how to be courageous. Watch the lions, the tigers and the bears. What is Courage?
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently”. Maya Angelou.
We can learn how to be courageous by watching the lions, the tigers and the bears. The word ‘courage’ originates from the Latin word cor (Coeur in French and cuore in Italian) which means heart; in essence, it means ‘to act from one’s heart’. The etymology of the word indicates that when we act courageously, we are activating our inner power and strength which surfaces through our heart’s desire. Courage is the mental preparedness and ability to deal with difficulty, challenges, and sometimes seemingly impossible circumstances. It is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, intimidation, and other threats.
Courage is not a quality that you are born with. It is one that has to be cultivated and honed. Today we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds but being courageous does not necessarily entail doing something dramatic or astoundingly heroic, everyday living requires courage.
So, what is courage? There are many definitions out there of what courage is. Below are my favorite ones.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel fear, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela
“Deep down in the human spirit, there is a reservoir of courage. It is always available, always waiting to be discovered.” Pema Chodron.
“Courage is a special kind of knowledge: The knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared.” David Ben-Gurion.
“The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” Jim Hightower.
“Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” John Wooden.
“We all have varying degrees of courage. Finding courage can be a choice we make every day, often in the quietest of ways. There is great courage in living life to the fullest, living with authenticity and a sense of alignment with one’s most deeply held values. And sometimes, simply getting up every day and putting one foot in front of another is an act of immense courage.” Barbara Bonner.
As Maya Angelou rightly said courage is a virtue and it is the most important one to cultivate because without it you cannot practice any of the other virtues consistently. When we work to develop courage, we both empower ourselves with the ability to confront problems head-on, as well as acquire the skills required to deal with life’s inevitable challenges.
In certain cultures, including in the Native American culture, there is a belief that our spirit guides accompany us during our life journey and those spirit guides include animals. A spirit animal acts as a teacher or messenger that comes in the form of an animal; it is believed that you do not choose the animal, rather the animal chooses you and is there to provide guidance, lessons, protection, power, or wisdom. You can have one or several spirit animals throughout your lifetime. They can come in and out of your lives to give you guidance, teach you about yourselves, and help you maintain balance. A spirit animal can bring you a message in several ways. You can physically cross paths with the animal, you can dream about it, see representations of the animal when you are out and about or it can come to you in your meditations. Your spirit animal often represents qualities and attributes that you may see in yourself.
To help us learn how to be courageous, I called upon the animal world and asked the lion, tiger, and bear to teach us a thing or two about courage.
Learn how to be courageous, watch the lion.
The lion is the king of the jungle, it epitomizes courage and is universally known as the symbol of strength, true leadership, and a commanding presence that cannot be easily intimidated. If the lion spirit animal makes you aware of its presence, it will give you the strength you need to face and overcome hurdles in your life; it will also teach you how to harness your fear, anger, and wild emotions. The lion animal spirit urges you to move forward with courage and decisiveness and push through life, no matter what.
With the lion animal spirit by your side, you will learn to choose your battles carefully. Some fights are worth fighting for and others aren’t, but taking care of the weak and vulnerable is always worth it. Lion people are very protective of their tribe and will spend considerable effort training their young to take care of themselves. For this reason, lion people are readily recognized as a leader and protector.
Learn how to be courageous, watch the tiger
Tiger symbolism is most commonly associated with strength and courage, as well as determination and independence. Tigers travel great distances, but they also spend much of their time resting and saving their energies. Choose wisely which pursuits you spend your energies on. Do not waste your efforts on those that will not give you something positive in return.
The tiger animal spirit also wants you to be determined and independent. If at first, you don’t succeed, try again until you make it. It’s OK not to get it right the first time, so don’t let your failures prevent you from achieving your dreams.
The tiger animal spirit is silent and solitary and thrives when there are no distractions. Its focus becomes more laser-sharp, and the silence makes it easier to spot any kind of movement nearby. Do not come rushing and roaring at your targets because this is the easiest way you can lose them from your grasp. Take a step back and think of the best approach. Sometimes to be successful in life, you need to forgo speed and aggression; slow down, listen closely, and wait for the perfect timing, no matter how long it takes.
When the tiger animal spirit makes you aware of its presence, it will teach you to focus on your goals, quietly and silently. And then when the time is right, trust your instincts, take action with swiftness and confidence. Persistence, patience, and hard work will lead you to success. Balance all the possibilities before you make a huge decision and act swiftly when required. Rely on your personal strength when you need motivation, determination, or courage.
With the tiger as your animal spirit, people can trust you to be calm and collected. You are very observant when it comes to people and your surroundings, which makes you wise and perceptive.
Learn how to be courageous, watch the bear
The bear is emblematic of grounding forces and strength. This animal spirit gives those who need it the courage to stand up against adversity. The spirit of the bear is a strong source of support in times of difficulty. When the bear shows up as a spirit guide in your life, it’s perhaps time to stand for your beliefs or your truth. Bears symbolize warrior spirit and courage to fight and would be invoked to help the warriors in the battle.
With a bear animal spirit at your side, you will learn the art of being patient and will learn to wait for just the right moment to manifest your ideas and projects. Moreover, you will have a great deal of confidence in who you are and where you are going in life.
The bear is an animal that lives a solitary life. Having a bear as a spirit animal can mean that you find balance and comfort in solitude. The presence of this animal could point to the need to “regroup” and set up boundaries, so you feel comfortable in your own space, where you can re-energize yourself in order to come back stronger than ever.
Be courageous, wake-up, dress-up, and show-up.
Being courageous doesn’t mean that you have to do bold spectacular acts of bravery and become a hero. Courage can show-up in a very quiet manner and in thousands of unexpected ways. Deciding not to fight can sometimes be as courageous as charging into battle. Forgiveness requires a lot of courage. Learning a new skill, starting a new business venture, stepping outside your comfort zone requires a lot of courage. Standing-up to bullies and speaking your mind require a fair dose of courage. Falling in love, letting your guards down can be an act of courage. Staying positive and upbeat when facing setbacks, ill-health, old age or even death requires a lot of courage.
And this my dear friend is your Quest. Be courageous.
If you liked this post you can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, or you may also like:
If you wish to support my work you can purchase my book This is Your Quest online at BookLocker, from Amazon, or from Barnes & Noble. The Ebook version is available on Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Apple (iBooks) & Kobo. Check out my Amazon Author Page here or my listing on Booksradar.com.
You can also follow me on my FaceBook Page and sign up for a Free Guide that I wrote for women to remind them that they should give themselves permission to be all that they can be.
4 replies on “Learn How to Be Courageous. Watch the Lions, the Tigers and the Bears”
I think we could also learn a lot from watching how small dogs “protect” their owners when they believe that they are being threatened. Or watching mothers everywhere protect their children from harm. Courage is often standing up for/believing in/protecting others.
Thank you Karen for stopping by and for your feedback. I agree. We should absolutely look up to how dogs and mothers protect their own!
Quite intriguing. Great read and much to consider, in life application.
Thank you
Thank you Debbie for stopping by and for your kind words of appreciation 😊🙏. Glad to hear my article resonates with you.