Be Courageous

“There is always a moment in any kind of struggle when
one feels in full bloom. Vivid. Alive. One might be
blown to bits in such a moment and still be at peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr. at the mountaintop. Gandhi
dying with the name of God on his lips. Sojourner
Truth baring her breasts at a women’s rights
convention in 1851. Harriet Tubman exposing her
revolver to some of the slaves she had freed, who,
fearing an unknown freedom, looked longingly backward
to their captivity, thereby endangering the freedom of
all.

To be such a person or to witness anyone at this
moment of transcendent presence is to know that what
is human is linked, by a daring compassion, to what is
divine.

During my years of being close to people
engaged in changing the world I have seen fear turn
into courage. Sorrow into joy. Funerals into
celebrations.

Because whatever the consequences,
people, standing side by side, have expressed who they
really are, and that ultimately they believe in the
love of the world and each other enough to be
that—which is the foundation of activism.” ~ alice walker