“My Fear is My Only Courage”
One day last week during my trek to work, I listened to “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. I admit I typically skip this song, but for whatever reason, I decided not to this time. As I was listening to the song, I heard the words “my fear is my only courage,” and it made me pause. I thought it was an interesting statement and I wanted to know what it meant. I also wondered if I could apply it to my life.
Over the last several months, I’ve been acknowledging how much I’ve allowed fear to hinder me. I let fear stop me from proudly being who I am during my adolescent years. I was afraid of ridicule and rejection; which, is pretty ironic simply because not proudly being myself didn’t make me popular or abundantly liked. In hindsight, I didn’t gain anything by not embracing who I am. Fast forward to my years as a young adult—I believed and feared not being good enough, talented enough, or smart enough to do a lot of things. But I am amazed when I think back to when I was a small child—before I was exposed to peer pressure and self-doubt— I faced any giant without fear. Where did she go?
As I stated earlier in this post, I was curious to find out what “my fear is my only courage” meant, so…I turned to Google. My search yielded some interesting information. There is a debate over whether or not Mr. Bob Marley said, “My fear is my only courage,” or “My feet are my only carriage.” Nevertheless—in the usual Towanda fashion—I decided to define what I heard and apply it to my life.
So, what does ‘my fear is my only courage’ mean to me? As I was searching for its meaning on the Internet, I stumbled upon another quote.
“Courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it.”
Multiple people have been given credit for the above quote: Victor Hugo, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Nelson Mandela. I also read a variation that was credited to Theodore Roosevelt. The origin of the quote is not my concern for this post, but how I manage my fear is and I am reminded of a familiar scripture.
“God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Now that I’ve explored a few possibilities of what “My fear is my only courage” means, I’ve concluded what it means to me. Since I know I obtain a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, there is no need for me to give in to fear. And I can literally—and figuratively—stand or move forward. Feelings of fear are now a motivator for me to push through. And for the fearless child who stood up to bullies twice her size—she’s still with me. I just allowed her to become dormant, but she is awake now and ready to fight that unwelcomed spirit of fear.