Learning takes courage

Many months ago, my friend introduced me to this prayer, which may be the most courageous one I know: May hidden things be brought to light.

It sounds good, right? To want to know the truth of a situation? To be open to seeing our own blind spots? To deal in reality rather than fantasy? 

It's how I want to say I live... and yet I find that it is sometimes easier said than done. Do I really want to know the cause of my headaches? Do I really want to know how that person sees me? Do I really want to know the state of my finances? Do I want to know what's making those scratching sounds in my walls?

What if I learn something frightening, or devastating? That shakes up my worldview? That I simply can't handle? I understand why people bury their heads in the sand, trying to buy a little more time of blissful ignorance (or certainty!) before their world changes.

Maybe if I ignore it long enough, the situation will go away, we think. And sometimes it actually does! But sometimes it gets worse. Or gets repeated. Until ignoring it actually becomes more painful than facing it.

What's so remarkable about this is that once the learning has happened, the fear tends to go away and things often get easier. But being willing to learn takes courage. It requires us to sit for a while in that vast space of "I don't know," being open to the hidden things that may be brought to light.

How do you tap into that courage for yourself?

What kinds of things are relatively easy for you to learn, and what tends to be harder?

What advice do you have for yourself related to new things that may be on the horizon for you to learn?

What have you had the courage to learn recently that you were proud of?

You can post your comments below, or better yet, join this Friday's live community Zoom call from 12-1, and we can explore this together in real time. Details here.

In the meantime, take heart. Whatever is out there on your horizon, you can handle it.