Courage

(This came to me last night during a conversation with Etienne. Might not make much sense now, but it has meaning to me, and I hope it will for you. Think of it as a mission statement, an extension of my goals and maybe a poem. So long as you think of it.)

My mind told me not to be afraid of my gifts. 

I never thought I could be afraid of writing. 

Maybe it's talking about something else. 

Charm? Compassion? Intelligence? Wisdom? 

My friend tells me all of these things are my gifts and we all have the capacity to be afraid of them. 

It's okay to be afraid.

We are all afraid.


But courage is not the absence of fear. It is the will to do what needs to be done.

I am so afraid to get a job. 

But I need one. 

I'm afraid to let myself be open. 

But I must. 

I'm so afraid that my work won't be accepted. 

All artists know this fear. 

But we must try. 

Or else we let down our greatest fans. 

Ourselves.

We have been given the gifts of words and vision 

And the burning desire to express.

We will be hurt

But we will succeed

We all must touch the minds and hearts of others

Whether we try to or not

It is for us to decide how we do so

And I choose to do so with wisdom and passion

And with awesome

I choose to write
To write with words of love

And metaphor

And hidden meaning

And blatant meaning

I choose to empower those I meet

And strive to enrich the soul.

With love and affirmation.

And I choose to be vunerable

And I choose not to do this alone...


Peace and blessings
Eric Rawlinson
20110108