Month: February 2019

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” When I read this quotation by poet, singer, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, I thought about how courage is required of us for what might be considered relatively minor situations as well as for more serious ones. Something I experienced many years ago is an example of this.

Within the first year that I began meeting with a Jungian psychotherapist, reading books about Jungian concepts, and recording my dreams, I had this dream: I see some people sitting around a table and there is a platter in the middle of the table with a pig on it that appears to have been cooked. One of the people picks up a carving knife and begins cutting a slice of the meat, and the pig moves and makes a sound. To my horror, I realize the pig isn’t dead. I understood this dream to be inner direction to stop eating meat, and I have been a vegetarian since having the dream 30 years ago.

It took courage for me to become a vegetarian, not because it was difficult to stop eating meat, but because of criticism for my decision from people I care about. I grew up in a rural town where farming and raising animals to be sold for meat were the main occupations and sources of income. My grandparents farmed and my father had farmed as a young man. So my father found it especially hard to understand why I would make this decision, and he made efforts to change my mind. I love my father and I think he might also have been concerned that a person couldn’t be healthy without eating meat. Even though I was in my 30s, my father’s opinions still affected me, and it wasn’t easy to go against his ideas of what was best. Other family members and some friends also questioned my choice.

So, as I said, it took some courage for me to stay with my decision. None of my friends were vegetarians so I felt somewhat alone. But I also was certain this was what I was supposed to do. I began reading about the benefits of not eating meat—which are many—and I noticed I had more energy. I know I’m a healthier person because I haven’t eaten meat for many years, and I’ve never questioned that it was the right thing for me to do.

There are many acts of courage of far greater significance than staying with a personal decision that is not understood by people we care about. However, being brave in the “smaller” life situations helps to prepare us to be more courageous when confronting the larger challenges.

Jungian thought includes the idea of individuation, the life-long process of becoming the unique persons we were each created to be. Following the guidance of our inner voice requires courage and, as Maya Angelou said, having courage is the basis for living the many other virtues.

“We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.” Helen Keller wrote these words, a woman who when she was 19 months old had an illness that resulted in her becoming both blind and deaf. With the assistance and companionship of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen learned to read, write, and speak, and eventually she became a famous speaker, author, and philanthropist who positively affected the lives of many people.

Helen Keller’s words are particularly significant to me because she is someone who, despite not being able to hear or see, strove to develop the many other abilities she had. It’s hard for me to imagine how difficult that would have been and the patience and courage it took for her to persevere. I often struggle to understand why there is so much suffering in our world. I feel for people who have disabilities, who are the victims of abuse, who live in war-torn areas—the list goes on. On a more personal level, I have struggled to accept challenges I’ve needed to face, challenges that, although difficult, have not been as difficult as those of many other people.

So I derive hope from Helen Keller and other people I respect, and I strive to be brave and patient during the trying times in my life.