Courage

I have been thinking about the  courage it took to tell several of the personal tales this morning.

My first observation is that these tales could be shared because David has helped us build a safe, supportive environment in our black room.  I am grateful for that.

Separate from the environment, the tellers still chose difficult stories and shared them bravely.

I looked in Anna Deavere Smith and Doug Lipman for snippets on courage.  What I found instead were passages on fear that touched on confronting fear and how an artist makes use of fear. (ADS pp. 133-136 and DL pp. 171-180.)  ADS writes, "Your fear sounds a little more like uncertainty.  Is it a lack of courage?  The life of an artist is risky.  There's a lot to be afraid of."

Courage was visible in the room today.  I applaud you for telling deep, meaningful stories.  We listeners benefited from it.