How does your courage look?

Courage and bravery take many forms. I just watched a video of my oldest granddaughter jumping from a plane high above the gorgeous countryside of Switzerland. I don't think I could skydive like that. I know Gretchen absolutely loved it, though. She is the type of person who will try new things, so it didn't surprise me that she did this during her college semester abroad in Prague.

My courage through the years led me to live five years in Papua New Guinea with my husband and family. And it took me to Liberia, West Africa, during its violent civil war. It also helped me survive divorce and create a new life for myself.

What does your courage look like? It need not take you to a war-torn country or high above a beautiful countryside.

Courage can mean showing up even when you are afraid of doing so. It can mean tackling a difficult task. Sometimes it means speaking up even though you might be shunned or ridiculed. It can mean defending the rights of others—or speaking truth to power. It may mean risking something important to you for a greater good.

Bravery and courage mean going through cancer treatments and facing each new day with hope, joy and gratitude. They can mean aging gracefully, despite the many losses and signs of decline you see in yourself. There are a million different ways to show courage.

Think of all the ways you have shown courage through the years—and celebrate yourself for doing so!

Hiding your true identity

I'm really saddened these days by all the news stories of damage done to Jewish cemeteries and of threats for more. When I hear this, I think of Anne Frank and Corrie ten Boom and so many more stories of the Holocaust—of Jews hiding their identity and of non-Jews with good hearts hiding Jews even at risk of their own lives.

These stories could lead us in several directions because there are so many levels to such hate crimes. One could discuss good and evil existing side by side. One could discuss the fears that lead to such crimes. We could even talk about what to do in the face of such hatred and fear.

Today, however, I simply want to ask you whether you've ever had to hide your identity. Perhaps you've never had to do so because you feared for your life as happened during World War II. But perhaps you had to hide who you really were—in a workplace, in a marriage, in a friendship—because you felt it really would not have been OK to be who you really were.

We all wear masks to present a face to the world that we think is more acceptable than who we think we are inside. That can be slightly different from actually hiding who we are because we fear rejection or retribution of some type. Have you ever thought you might not move ahead in your career if your boss or coworkers knew the authentic you? Have you worried that your spouse or partner wouldn't really love you if you showed your true self? Have you worried that you can't say what you think in your place of worship because of what others might think?

What might it feel like to reveal who you really are? To risk living in a completely authentic way? Let yourself feel how that might be. What do you need to do to live authentically? Are you ready to risk it?

Moving outside the comfort zone

Are you a risk-taker? Or do you stay safely inside your sphere of comfort? There's no right or wrong answer to that, so be honest with yourself.

I have taken several risks in my life but I don't consider myself a risk-taker. I'm not about to take a zip-line so I can sail through space over gulches and through trees in Haleakala, Hawaii. Nor am I about to go white-water rafting down the Colorado River. Those are way outside my comfort zone.

There are risks, and there are risks! What one person thinks is courage, another may not. Risk is whatever scares you. Simply putting yourself out there in front of others is frightening to most people. In fact, the number one fear is public speaking. Yet many people do it—and think nothing of it.

Recently I read about a man who has lived with a facial difference—and yet he is a public speaker, entertainer, stand-up comic and an inspirational speaker. Many praise David Roche for his inspiring story and his courage. He took something that would have kept most people in the background and used it as a strength. What a risk-taker. As his website says, "You'll remember more than his face. He'll open your eyes. He'll touch your heart."

Roche has the courage to be authentic and to dig deep to use a challenge as a strength. Perhaps he'll inspire you, as he does me, to step outside your comfort zone to do something you've long wanted to do. Come on, shall we try something courageous this week?