Post #4-Courage (in my best Cowardly Lion impression)!

Courage! What makes a King out of a slave? Courage!

What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage!

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage!

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage!

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got?

Courage! ….(You can say that again)

~The Cowardly Lion

In the first chapter of the book of Joshua (found in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles), the text opens with Jehovah articulating a new mission, task or purpose for Joshua and the Hebrew people. Moses has died and Joshua has been given the mantle of leadership. He is given instruction to take the land promised them (still a disputed notion, however) and finally fulfill God’s covenant made with Abraham hundreds of years before.

As one can imagine, this is easier said than done, but primarily due to the mental outlook and construct of the Israelites. See, Joshua wasn’t chosen haphazardly to be the leader, he had already demonstrated a necessary component of leadership…courage. As the story goes, Moses had previously assembled a “committee” of officers, twelve representatives of each tribal group. They were tasked to scope out this “promised” land only to find there were already inhabitants. Upon returning from this top-secret spy mission, ten of the twelve agreed, concluding that the undertaking was too large, the vision too big, and the obstacles too great. However, two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, dissented, agreeing that they could overtake any obstacle to accomplish their goal.

Resisting the urge to look through the lens of contemporary politics, I don’t want to engage the ideology of Zionism or the specific policy implications of creating a Palestinian state, but I want to tease a particular nuance of this ancient text in order to harvest some elements of truth for own lives. I enjoy this story (even to the point I named my youngest son Joshua Caleb) because if given close attention it speaks volumes about the human psyche and our evolutionary tendency to self-preserve.

When confronted about taking the land (as recorded in the book of Numbers, 13^th chapter and 33^rd verse) the ten spies responded by saying:

…..and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

I find this very telling. In their own eyes they saw themselves as small, inept and impotent, therefore they “assumed” they must be seen the same in the eyes of others. Their own fear had manipulated and distorted their view of themselves as well as the world around them. There is so much to say about fear and how it manifest in our lives, but I want to drill in today on its self-preservation aspect. Meaning, fear is a natural and normal occurrence that has developed in us through the evolution of humans and the human experience. However, if left untamed, fear can distort our view of the world thereby creating unbelievable damage in our lives.

Neuropsychology tells us that within our brains we have something (a collection of nuclei to be exact), called the amygdala. Research has also shown that the its primary function is to process memory and emotional reactions. Simply stated, any harmful, hurtful, embarrassing, confusing, humiliating, shameful, angering event in our life is stored in the amygdala. As an element of self-preservation, the amygdala’s job is to remember what hurt you and steer you away from any similar hurt through a variety of flight or fight responses. Granted, this was incredibly important for our cave men and women ancestors who had the crucial task of remembering which plants to eat, which animals to avoid, etc. in the beginning stags of human life on planet earth. However, this very small but powerful brain component can do all but wreck our relationships as we find ourselves riddled with distorted perceptions and fear-based reactions.

The Israelites spent hundreds of years enslaved and the last forty years wandering in the wilderness. Their collective memory held hurts and pains that manifested in “grasshopper mentality.” Having been hurt, this was their defense mechanism to avoid any further trauma. Our own lives include examples that consist of a long list of defense mechanisms designed to block ourselves from being hurt, including hurting others before they hurt us, numbing the pain through addiction and unhealthy or unproductive choices, prematurely ending a promising relationship due to the assumed inevitably of rejection from one’s partner, or simply being critical and judgmental of ourselves or others to deflect the presumed judgment of others toward us. In some way we either express flight or fight, all triggered by something that reminds our amgydala of a past hurt or pain.

The good news is, however, we can break the cycle of hurt, pain and destructive defense mechanisms and it begins by simply making a different choice. We must first take FULL responsibility for our lives and the decisions we’ve made regardless of the motivating factors, amygdala or otherwise. Then and only then can we invoke the courage to be powerfully genuine in our own identities, comfortable in our own skin and vulnerable to the dangers that being open, honest and authentic can present.

If you have read the last few posts you will notice that I often speak of authenticity as a critical component of living a life of power and purpose. So many of us can’t live the life our dreams because we’re too preoccupied living the life of someone else’s dreams. So, in my next post I’ll give a good working definition of authenticity and we’ll deconstruct what authenticity looks like in real life and how not to succumb to the temptation of inauthenticity and fear.

In closing, I want to remind you that you do indeed have the power to make a different choice. As you begin to “know thyself” you might discover some destructive and even devastating patterns that have been fueled by past hurts and pains. Just know what has been, doesn’t have to remain. Within you resides true courage, the power to change, and the wisdom to navigate how to do so, because…

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you, they are ahead of you because you are wise and courageous beyond belief and as you tap into the power of that courage, you will encounter a guarantee of #bigthingscoming!

Be Strong!

 ~Ray

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read my first introductory post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)