āNature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick.
This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done.
By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it's a feather bed.ā
ā Terence McKenna
Courage is one of those qualities that is often confused, and conflated with it's closest cousins.
But courage need not be something reserved for those special souls who do something unusually heroic or newsworthy.
When I read the late great Terrance McKenna's wise words, it reminds me that courage is really another word for trust.
The trust that if you do decide to hurl yourself into the abyss, it's not jagged edges and hard landings that await; Instead, it's the support of something invisible and unseen, waiting & willing to cushion your fall.
I've had a lot of crazy, hazy and unusual experiences in my life. Many starts and stops, ups and deep downs, failings, flailings and far too many skinned knees to count.
But as I look back at the dubious decisions, the odd adventures into the the unknown, and the many wild, weird & often wonderful encounters with strange souls along the way, I've never felt particularly courageous. But I've always felt the trust.
That if I simply showed up for myself, and believed there was a mission, a message, a commitment or a cause that was calling me to jump - that somewhere on the way down, that feather bed would appear.
Life is hard. But have faith. Trust in yourself. Close your eyes. And jump.