| No one wants to be a coward, so if we know | | | | acknowledging them. If we can't admit them or |
| what it takes to be a coward, perhaps we can | | | | if we actually enjoy our subtle, controlling, |
| avoid becoming one! | | | | manipulative ways, no self-help book in the |
| | | | world will help, and even worse; if we are |
| When we read books or articles on how we can | | | | the type that feels we need no help at all, |
| improve, or self-help books that tell us how | | | | well . . . then we are probably beyond help. |
| we can help ourselves, we are in a twilight | | | | In that case, we must learn the hard lessons |
| zone of assumptions and speculation. To get | | | | on our own; the lesons that our karma will |
| real, all we need to do is look at ourselves | | | | churn out |
| - what we are doing now and how we were | | | | |
| acting yesterday - this is where we learn. | | | | Authentic freedom is never freedom from; it |
| When we look away from what we really are, it | | | | is always just . . . freedom. Freedom is a |
| is because admitting what we really are is | | | | state of mind - boundless and uninhibited - |
| too painful. Instead, we lose ourselves in | | | | the mind of a hero. The mind of a coward is |
| books and imaginations of what we should be, | | | | suspicious and fearful all the time; fearful |
| then, instead of seeing and facing our | | | | of new ideas, different thoughts and anything |
| cowardice, we imagine ourselves as heroes. | | | | that disturbs its delusions. |
| The problem with this is that until we see | | | | |
| and acknowledge our cowardice, it will not | | | | Authentic freedom, on the other hand, is a |
| change. So the first step in avoiding | | | | release from all of this. Authentic freedom |
| cowardice is seeing it. | | | | is the opposite of attempting to keep things |
| | | | from changing, because things do in fact |
| How we conduct ourselves in relationship with | | | | change regardless of our most committed |
| others indicates our state of mind. If we | | | | attempts to keep things the same. |
| come from a controlling place where | | | | Conservatism, if looked at closely, is filled |
| everything has to be our way, we are | | | | with fear - the fear of change. For a moment, |
| displaying our cowardice because while | | | | think about what it is that we are fearful |
| cowards hide behind their concepts and | | | | of. Why do we constantly pick up one |
| hypothesis, heroes have their eyes wide open | | | | self-help book after another, and they never |
| at all times for new possibilities. When we | | | | help for long? It's because we never get to |
| hide behind beliefs and theories at the | | | | the root of our problems. |
| expense of seeing what is happening at this | | | | |
| very moment, or what is real, we display our | | | | If we study ourselves in depth, which is a |
| fears. If our beliefs foster guilt, | | | | form of meditation, we would quickly discover |
| repression, fear, hatred, separation, | | | | what it is that we are fearful of; which is |
| sectarianism, and judgementalism rather than | | | | simply not being happy. But instead of |
| creating love, compassion, forgiveness, and | | | | exploring our unhappiness and fear, we |
| true generosity, and if this is what we are | | | | attempt to become free from fear . . . and |
| teaching our children by our actions; then we | | | | embrace happiness. This doesn't work. Only in |
| will lose our children, as well as our own | | | | the " seeing" of our fear and our |
| souls. | | | | unhappiness, followed by the acceptance of |
| | | | our fear and unhappiness, offers the |
| We remain hostage to fear when we hide from | | | | possibility of transcending both. |
| anything, especially our deep psychological | | | | |
| tendencies that we have cultivated over a | | | | For it's only when we stop trying to |
| lifetime. In order to become free from these | | | | cultivate bravery and reject cowardice, and |
| tendencies and become what all of these | | | | instead accept what we are in every moment, |
| self-help books suggest, we must find a | | | | fully and unabashedly, does the possibility |
| general freedom; this is the bottom line. To | | | | exist of changing ourselves fundamentally. |
| become free, however, involves facing our | | | | |
| tendencies head on, and this means | | | | And therein lies the possibility of freedom. |