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A large part of history paints quite a picture of the men throughout time, often grizzly, fearless, ruthless, blood thirsty warriors with swords in their hands, ready to fight, emotions and feelings pushed deep within them never to be seen again.
Nowadays we are obviously very unlikely going to die for what we believe in, but we still must feel that inner strength and courage of believing in what we value most!
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This picture definitely has had an effect on my own life growing up, I had the feeling like I needed to move through the world avoiding feelings and emotions, going to the gym to look and feel more manly, using my strength training and the way I looked to feel powerful within.. I probably had the subconscious thought growing up in my late teens into my twenties that feeling nervous, sad, upset, loving wasn’t something that a man should feel, so instead I would likely push it down within and get on with my life, avoiding all that could make me feel vulnerable.
The men of today living in modern society are some what different to those men back in times of hand to hand combat and war, the things we need courage for are much less likely to end in serious injury or death.
We are a new type of man, slightly pampered and comforted we might say and that’s OK, those times have moved on, we no longer need to stand on a battlefield with sword in hand, ready to die at the hands of another for what we believe in.
Nowadays we are obviously very unlikely going to die for what we believe in, but we still must feel that inner strength and courage of believing in what we value most!
We must be willing to die for the ultimate experience of life, for the ultimate freedom, for our truest self.
Now is a time for a very different sword in our lives. This sword is made up of light, it is a sword of the heart, a sword of vulnerability, a sword of feeling, a sword of love.
True courage has a lot of heart to it, in fact true courage is from the heart, always.
It has been such an amazing journey thus far as a man trying to work out what it means to be man of courage in this modern age, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, I’ve missed out on some possibly amazing experiences because of the fears that often held me back.
To be the man I am today who truly embodies the points I will give you below, it took and still takes a colossal amount of courage and that courage has truly set me free.
I am writing this article for the men out there, to tell them it’s okay and to say to them that if we can embody these ways of being, we will feel such freedom within ourselves that our inner and outer world will change dramatically. Everything will improve in one way or another, that much I am sure of.
No more holding back, we must shine as brightly as we can.
Here are 5 courageous ways the men of today must embody to truly live from a place of inner freedom.
1. An Expression Of Interest.
To meet women, or to even meet other men we may say it needs a little courage. We see someone we find attractive over there, yet our minds block us from going to say hello to them, we are blocked because we haven’t moved down into the beautiful courage within our hearts that would love very much to express interest to that person.
If we are afraid to express interest, we aren’t living from our hearts, our interest to another is a gift, all we need is a little courage to give that gift to them, an invitation if you wish.
2. Being A Creative.
Another gift to the world that is often blocked by the fears of our mind and that fear is to create, to create art, to create music, to create love, to create a business etc…
Whatever it maybe, we must have courage to create in the face of the opinions of others, we must do it because our creativity is life, our creativity is within us always ready to be utilised, just as it was when we were children, living from our hearts.
The courage to give our gift of creativity is a blessing to the world.
3. Going Deeply Into Love.
The courage to love deeply is the greatest courage of all, to not avoid the pain that loving as deeply as possible could bring is true fearlessness.
The courage to love no matter what comes our way because that is what we are is beautiful, no matter what has happened in our past, no matter what pains we have previously felt from loving another. We must have the courage to love with our whole being.. There is no other way to fully experience life and there is no other way to relate that will bring us the greatest fulfilment.
4. The Feeling Of Our Feelings.
To feel our feelings takes courage, to feel what is really happening within us with honest reflection is courage.
To become okay with our ever changing feelings, to not condemn ourselves for feeling a certain way that may not be all that ‘manly’. It’s okay to feel our feelings and feel them deeply, that’s the only way to heal.
It takes courage to delve into ourselves and it is so worth it.
5. Raw Honesty.
Honesty is courage, especially raw honesty. Honesty is vulnerability, honesty is openness, it is showing someone, it is showing the world the depths of our hearts.
Honesty is one of the greatest values we can uphold and it is the number one thing that will give us the ultimate freedom, nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear.
Honesty also requires empathy, honesty has the power to hurt others but that is never the intention of a courageous man, our intentions are good and we use empathy to understand whether what we say will have a negative effect on another.
Honesty takes and will always take courage in a world that hides so much, everyone has masks and layers upon layers to hide who they really are.
The courageous man is different, he moves naked and exposed through the world.
Let’s use that courage and set ourselves free.
If you have any questions regarding this process of finding the courage we all have within you can connect with me through my services on http://www.georgehowardinspire.com
Or message me through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/georgehowardinspire
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Photo: Getty Images
“The men of today living in modern society are some what different to those men back in times of hand to hand combat and war, the things we need courage for are much less likely to end in serious injury or death.” Well, not really. Ever talked to those old veterans and see what they were feeling, what they feel now? Every been one? Ever sit with men about to go to their deaths in combat? Letters, prayers, puking, same thing anyone of us would feel today, and We’d bury those feelings just as deep as it meant survival. We’re… Read more »
Men back in those days of World War II and Korean War did not talk about their war experience particularly if they suffer from combat fatigue for years not even to their family members for fear of being shunned or being looked down upon.. Nowadays. that kind culture stigma is coming down; however, it is going to take time since many veterans still don’t talk about their experience. Yeah, men were different due to the cultural attitude back then.
Men need to be allowed to developed their full range of emotions and be praise for have intellectualism instead of being looked at for physical strength. Business people need this more instead of taught that people are numbers who are expandable.
I love this … I want a courageous, naked man.:-)
Cracked me up!
I’m courageous but I guarantee you that you don’t want to ever see me naked
Wonderfully said. It takes a hell of a courage to look inside ourselves and to hold ourselves while we fall.
Such a great piece, thank you. These 5 ways need to be taught in our schools, and to parents, teachers, politicians and more.