Written by Kirsty Turner

Life invites us at times to take the step of going deeper into ourselves. Things happen that make us realise we are being pulled to notice, to feel, to question, and to heal the painful conflicts that hurt us. It can be immensely challenging to take this step as we may be afraid of what we will find as we begin to pay more attention what is going on inside.

Where do we find the courage go within?

For some, it comes from a realisation that that they don’t really know who they are, how they got to where they are in their life or what they really want. For others, it may feel as though necessity is driving them to search themselves - they may have grown tired of looking everywhere around them all their life and inside themselves may be the one place they have not yet looked. Curiosity to find out what is in us and intense need to make changes can also be catalysts for us to start the path.

We can take courage from those who have gone before us, from the many throughout the ages from every generation and culture who have explored, created, and expressed out of what matters most to them.

Many different paths can support us to take this step to go within ourselves. These can include psychotherapy, relationships with others, exploring creative or physical pursuits, developing spiritual practices and spending time alone in nature.

And we may find, as we begin, that we have been this road before….  In a way, we have always known ourselves deeply and intimately. It is the traumatic experiences of our lives that have at times cut us off from this knowing and left us looking elsewhere for direction. Our work now is to keep practicing ways of reconnecting, of returning continually to who we really are.

The deep paradox of this journey is that we find the courage to go within precisely when we take the step to go within…

We discover, in the rich intensity of our daily experience, that the courage was there within us all along.