An Anatomy of Fear and Courage

Last night on 60 minutes
the nation was exposed to a shameful account of abject fear
by a nurse on the teaching faculty of the elementary school
where the monstrous massacre took place

she hid behind a desk when the killer came into her office
and then;locked herself in a closet
listening to the bullets and screams of tiny children
while the killing took place

she remained in hiding for four hours
long after the shooting stopped
never daring to move from her hiding place
to do do her duty
and try and save the wounded

for the rest of her life
she will be left to confront her inner self

this is not a judgment on her
she never failed her real self
our system of education did that
she was never formally trained and prepared
to evoke her natural courage
and face fear

and because of this lack of formal training
the majority of modern people
both male and female
would have reacted in more or less the same way

courage does not surface easily
it is an essential aspect of the survival instinct
all mothers have it in protection of their young
it more than likely
that nurse was not a mother herself
thus everything failed her in her hour of need

all males have it
it is evoked in protection of territory
and the right to fight for a mate

in humans
natural courage was honed
to super-natural degrees during the six hundred generations
of Bronze Age development
it was accomplished via ancient initiation rites of pubertal initiation
in peer group boot camps of elder instruction
and forced ordeals alone in thew wilderness
all designed to stimulate manipura
the chakra of courage

courage was a vital
in order to face the lions preying on our herds
armed with nothing more than a spear
and not turn from the charge in a panic

it is our inheritance of that higher cultivation of courage
which allows heroes on the battle field
to super-naturally transcend the instinct of self survival
and rescue another
in the face of almost certain death

the education of the warrior spirit in man
no longer takes place
now technology does our protection and fighting
via the press of a button
sending out drones and guided missiles

only those young men
with the sense to join the armed services
and go through boot camp
get the necessary training

only those young women
who refuse drugs in child birth
and face the pains and fears
of possible death in self delivery
get themselves prepared

the rest of moderns battle for money and self worth
behind a desk
rock and roll on the disco floor
and never become truly self realized

i cry silently
for that poor nurse
and send her
my profound sympathy

and thank god i had the sense
to graduate all my kids
through the heartstart rite of passage program
and know they are at least prepared
to face their own hour of Truth