“What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve learned so far in 2024”

That was the pointed question posed to me and my sweetheart by her inquisitive Gen-Z daughter the other day. Kudos to her for having the courage to dig a little deeper in her conversations and go beyond small talk about the weather. She had her journal out and was cataloging the answers supplied by us and several other close friends and relatives.

My first comment was to simply thank her with my surprise at being asked such a thought-provoking question. It made me realize that it’s somewhat rare for people to make inquiries that go beneath the surface.

I made another observation as I pondered the question, namely, that the way she had phrased it made it timely and current. Searching for an answer had initially made my mind jump to larger life lessons that had occurred to me over time.

But she was looking for something new and fresh, some nugget of wisdom that had shown up within the last six or eight months.

Well worn platitudes would simply not do. Rehashing something ordinary like “Avoid people who don’t respect your time” might be accurate, but that‘s the sort of thing I learned long ago, not exactly recent.

What finally bubbled up to the surface for me was something I’d ran across recently, probably somewhere online. Not exactly a revolutionary idea, but framed in a way that hadn’t occurred to me before. What I told her was this:

“Courage is the foundation of all happiness. If you allow fear to rule your choices in life you will always be unhappy. You will go through life oppressed by the vague feeling that you’ve missed out on joy.”

I can think of all sorts of times in life where this has proven to be true. From simply saying yes to an invitation rather than declining and staying home, to looking at the underlying message behind an advertising cliché like “just do it”, it’s an idea that certainly rings true.

Having the guts to go for it in the great dance of life and transcend fear in favor of results puts you on the path to well being. Our young intrepid inquirer was well satisfied by my reply. With my compliments, I thanked her for probing a bit deeper beneath the surface with a wisdom-inducing query.

Something to consider next time you need some courage. If you remember that your happiness rests upon it, it might be easier to summon when you need it.

With that I wish you well until next week!

À bientôt!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine