Words of Art - Lesson 2

Estimated reading time: 6 min.

Dear reader,

Welcome back to Guiding Words.

In the previous lesson, we covered the subject of regret and learned that to meet death without regret, we need to embrace the path of “good enough” and live authentically.

In this lesson, we will talk about another common feeling that many people experience as they get closer to the end, and that is a feeling of uneasiness, anxiety and even fear, when it becomes clear that no one really knows what happens after we die, and everyone will have to find out for themselves.

Even though many religious faiths provide a clear answer to the question of the afterlife, here’s a tentative answer that can, hopefully, unite us beyond our differences, and it lies in the virtue of courage.

Let’s begin with some Words of Art:

Your level of courage is proportional to the strength of your belief when put to the test.

I’ve come across a couple of stories of people who have acted courageously, but the story of Helmuth Hübener remains one of my favorites. Read his story by following the link to the History Channel article Meet the Youngest Person Executed for Defying the Nazis.

However, for the purpose of this lesson, here is a quick summary of his story.

Helmuth Hübener learned about the true nature of the Nazi regime from secretly listening to his brother’s forbidden short-wave radio. That truth had such an impact on him that he decided to tell his fellow Germans about it, and for that, he paid the ultimate price. He was 17 when he was tried as an adult by the People’s Court, a Nazi-controlled tribunal that dealt with matters of treason. During his trial, instead of arguing for his release, he instead confronted the judges about the Nazi regime and the war. He ended up being convicted of conspiracy to commit high treason and treasonous furthering of the enemy’s causes and sentenced to death by beheading. On October 27, 1942, when asked if he had anything to say before his sentencing, Hübener confronted the judges again. “I have to die now for no crime at all,” he said. “Your turn is next!”

Standing tall from the height of his 17 years of age, Helmuth Hübener demonstrated impeccable courage and conviction.

There’s a famous commandment which was said to have been inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece and reads: Know Thyself.

However, the truth is

We do not truly know ourselves until the circumstances we face reveal us to ourselves. – WoA.

The person that you think you are is a hypothesis that is only confirmed by the way you act when confronted with a specific situation.

You are not a courageous person until you have done an act of courage in a situation that requires courage and not just once but every time such situations present themselves. You can be courageous today but not tomorrow; courageous in one situation but not another, courageous in one situation today, but not in the same situation tomorrow.

As we build our identities, pillars emerge that hold our building together and those pillars are our beliefs and principles. Helmuth Hübener believed in something and proved it through his act of courage.

My question to you is: What are your beliefs and principles? Have they ever been (really) tested? How many times and most of all, each time, did you rise to the challenge?

An act of courage is done in reaction to something that threatens one’s belief, and a person without a belief does not know if he or she is courageous or not. Likewise, a person who describes himself as courageous does not know if it’s true or not until faced with a situation that challenges that statement.

But, how does this relate to the fear of the unknown that is death?

Before we answer that, ask yourself: When was the last time you did an act of courage? Not the type of courage that makes you jump from an airplane or completely change your hairstyle, but the type of courage that makes you confront your boss over a misogynist comment or choose to give up your well-paying senior manager job to follow your passion for building custom-made rocking chairs.

The thing is, there is value in proving to yourself, not just once, but multiple times throughout your life, that you are a courageous person. Every time you dare to face your fears, it is a confirmation to yourself that, indeed, you are courageous. And those acts of courage compound to the point where you have the quasi-certainty that, whatever the situation, there’s a great chance that you will act with courage.

So, how does courage address the fear of the unknown that is death?

It’s simple, if you have lived your whole life proving to yourself through countless actions that you are able to act with courage even when you do not know the outcome your actions will lead to, why should you be fearful when facing the unknown that is death? Because in the face of life you have demonstrated courage and self-reliance, those same virtues will guide you as you step into the afterlife.

When faced with the question: What happens after we die? The one on the path to serenity answers: I do not know for sure, but what I do know is that I will meet it with impeccable courage.

In the next lesson, we will close the series of lessons on the subject of death by addressing one last common feeling that might come up as we contemplate our own mortality, and that is the ego realizing that as the body meets its end, it too, will end.

See you in three days and until then, may Serenity be upon you.

Didi

Question: After reading this lesson, can you confidently say, with irrefutable proof, 'I am courageous'?

Reply with a yes or no and feel free to go beyond two or three characters.

P.S.: I am trying to find the right words to convey my thoughts in a language that is not mine, so please pardon my mistakes and feel free to reply with any suggestions and/or corrections that can make this reading experience more enjoyable.

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