Courage !

Courage means going into the unknown
in spite of all the fears.
Courage does not mean fearlessness.
Fearlessness happens if you go on being
courageous and more courageous.
That is the ultimate experience
of courage-fearlessness.
That is the fragrance
when the courage has become absolute.
But in the beginning
there is not much of a difference between
the coward and the courageous person.
The only difference is,
the coward listens to his fears
and follows them
and the courageous person puts them aside
and goes ahead.
The courageous person goes into the unknown
in spite of all the fears.
He knows the fears, the fears are there.
When you go into the uncharted sea
like Columbus,
there is fear, immense fear,
because one never knows
what is going to happen
and you are leaving the shore of safety.
You were perfectly oke, in a way,
only one thing was missing adventure.
Going into the unknown gives you a thrill.
The heart starts pulsating again;
again you are alive, fully alive.
Every fiber of your being is alive because
you have accepted 
the challenge of the unknown.
To accept the challenge of the unknown
in spite of all fears, is courage.
The fears are there, but
if you go on accepting the challenge
again and again,
slowly slowly those fears disappear,
because the experience of the joy
that the unknown brings,
the great ecstasy
that starts happening with the unknown
makes you strong enough,
gives you a certain integrity,
makes your intelligence sharp.
For the first time you start feeling
that life is not just a boredom
but an adventure.
Then slowly slowly fears disappear;
then you are always
seeking and searching for some adventure.
But basically courage is
risking the known for the unknown,
the familiar for the unfamiliar,
the comfortable for the uncomfortable,
arduous pilgrimage
to some unknown destination.
One never knows whether one will be able
to make it or not.
It is gambling,
but only the gamblers know what life is.

Beloved Osho