A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

I like Emerson. I would have liked to have an afternoon with him, I think we would have gotten along quite well. 
As much as I like his writings, and as many of them as I have read, I haven't noticed this one before. I don't know why...it isn't as though I didn't understand it. I do. I understand it quite well. 
It's profound in many ways. 
Of course we all know that it takes courage to do something new, to pass through a doorway into a room unknown. What's in there, where's the lightswitch, are there even lights to turn on? Is there a way out, is there air to breathe...what are the risks? All unknown. Fear of the unknown is a great inhibitor of action. Yet, it's also easier to put aside, to focus straight ahead and move into and through.

The known, however...can have an even greater power of inhibition over our ability to act.

Being a parent. You do it once, you know what's coming up. It isn't easy. You do it the second time, the third, etc. Of course you go through that door, you'd never not do it. It's a tough gig, and you'd not trade it for anything. Most times. Some nights, a stiff drink would be a happy trade. Just kidding. Kinda.

Been thrown from a horse? Get back on. The same horse. The same saddle. Take the same ride. 

Surgery. 

Love...or rather, heartbreak.

You get the idea. 

We do what we have to do to bring around the result we need, or want badly enough, to have. That's what we do. Maturity teaches us to sacrifice peace of the moment for security, comfort, growth and wisdom of tomorrow. The first time we go back to the doctor for shots when we're little..the dentist, whatever. We learn that we'll live through the unpleasantness, and we learn ways to cope with that moment of difficulty. That's a skill we need our whole lives. It's a skill that serves us more completely than almost any other.

Way to be, Emerson. 
It's why I keep trying.