Moral Courage

"Moral courage is 'the lion of the tribe of Judah,' the king of the mental realm. Free and fearless it roams in the forest. Undisturbed it lies in the open field, or rests in 'green pastures, beside the still waters.' In the figurative transmission from the Divine Thought to the human, diligence, promptness, and perseverance are likened to 'the cattle upon a thousand hills.' They carry the baggage of stern resolve, and keep pace with highest purpose. Tenderness accompanies all the might imparted by Spirit. The individuality created by God is not carnivorous, as witness the millennial estate pictured by Isaiah: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." -- Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy; Page 514, Lines 10-25

"I am the Holy Son of God HimSelf. I cannot suffer, cannot be in pain, cannot suffer loss, nor fail to do all that salvation asks." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 191, 7:3-4

I love the thought of moral courage. It is like a shot of vigor, like standing in the face of whatever seems to be with calm assurance that all is, and has forever been, very well. It is a complete letting go of the seduction of arguing for lack, limitation, and mortality as real. As the Son of God, we emanate and radiate God, and only God. A ray of sun radiates sunlight, and only sunlight. A Course in Miracles says it this way: "Ideas leave not their source."

As the Son of God, we cannot be unlike God... therefore we cannot suffer, cannot be in pain, cannot be inflamed or depleted, cannot suffer lack, loss, or limitation of any kind. We radiate all the attributes of God, and only God. Moral courage is the willingness to simply Be as God created us, without any need to embellish. No needs at all.

I have had some experiences lately that have given me the opportunity to experience this more fully. The willingness to fully engage with whatever God asks of me in any moment, without judgement or rationalization, without argument or trying to change it... this is the moral courage Mary Baker Eddy speaks of, like the lion roaming the forest without fear, in perfect freedom. And this lion truly isn't carnivorous, and exists peacefully with every other idea. There is no competition among the radiant thoughts of God. "And a little child shall lead them." As the Son of God, I am also like a little child, walking without fear among all people and all experiences, and willing to go wherever my Father leads me. Like that ray of sunlight, I shine where I am shone.

There is no self-consciousness in Being the Son of God, because there is no separate self that needs to look a certain way or appear this way or that. There is One Self, shining through the prism of Life as myriad colors and expressions, Infinite Love and Variety, all so very Good. As Yogananda put it, "God is ever-new Joy." There's nothing dull about being as God created me.

So moral courage is the willingness to Be as God created us, not as we imagine ourselves. "Stand and see the salvation of the Lord." Truly, there is nothing else.

"You who perceive yourself as weak and frail, with futile hopes and devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep and suffer pain, hear this: All Power is given unto you in earth and Heaven. There is nothing that you cannot do. You play the game of death, of being helpless, pitifully tied to dissolution in a world which shows no mercy to you. Yet when you accord it mercy, will its mercy shine on you. Then let the Son of God awaken from his sleep, and opening his holy eyes, return again to bless the world he made. In error it began, but it will end in the reflection of His Holiness." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 191, 9:1-4, & 10:1-2