This post is a part of the Season of Gratitude Series. You can participate by writing a gratitude post and telling me about it. For more details, click here.

Marianne Williamson writes in her book A Return to Love:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Courage is a pivotal virtue that is cultivated by doing what you fear. It is not the absence of fear. Living in alignment with your purpose, with the God of your Being, takes immense courage.

Not courage in the sense of working up the gumption to jump off a cliff with a bungee cord. The courage that it takes to present innovative ideas to your manager despite seeing him lay off 3 team members a quarter. It’s the courage that it takes to eat healthy everyday after you have tried and failed at many diets. It’s the courage it takes to let go of an empty relationship when you most fear being alone.

Courage has the power to change your life in a moment. It causes you to make that decision that you won’t see the fruit of for many years to come. The decision that you know is most True to who you really are. The decision that can change the world.

Today, I give thanks for the courage to change the things that I can change.

What virtue are you grateful for today?