Podcast 74: Courage — The Heart of the Matter

What does courage actually look like?

Not just heroic moments. Sometimes courage is:
• getting out of bed after loss
• walking into a room where you know no one
• rebuilding your life after divorce or grief
• retiring and asking, “Who am I now?”
• taking one small step forward while afraid

In Episode 74 of Two Crones and a Microphone, we talk about courage as “the heart of the matter” — and how intuition, community, and purpose help us move through change.

We’d love to hear your stories, too.

#TwoCronesAndaMicrophone #Courage #GriefSupport #Intuition #HealingJourney #WomenSupportingWomen #Purpose #CommunityHealing #LifeTransitions #SpiritualGrowth

Transcript

Linda:
Hello and welcome to Two Crones and a Microphone. I am Linda.

Betty:
I am Betty.

Sally:
And I’m Sally.

Linda:
We’re so glad you joined us today. We’ve been trotting on a certain path here that we’ve enjoyed, where we’ve been talking about listening deeply, learning to be led, and understanding our intuition. Our last couple of podcasts have been about that.

Prior to that, we had a marvelous interaction with our friend Charlotte, talking about grief, the stages of grief, and different pragmatic, thoughtful, and heartfelt ways to interact with anyone, including ourselves, when we’re going through a grieving process.

This particular podcast — first off, this is Podcast 74. Yay.

We are going to be talking about courage and about reinventing and recreating our lives after any kind of loss or event that requires that.

Why courage? Because it’s the heart of the matter.

Courage itself, as a word, is based on the Latin word cor, meaning heart. It reflects its association with inner strength and emotion. Through Old French, it evolved to denote bravery and spirit in facing fear or difficulty.

Courage is the heart, the basis of the emotion and skill we can help build for ourselves and others in order to support ourselves through change.

There’s a quote I’d like to read that I think is encouraging. It’s from an astrologer I follow, Chani Nicholas.

This week’s affirmation is:

“Even though I feel alone sometimes, I never am. Someone before me, behind me, and beside me has faced this too. Their collective wisdom is my friend and guide.”

So with that, we started talking about different stories and life circumstances when we had to gather our courage.

Betty, you had a lovely story.

Betty:
Well, it got me to thinking. I don’t think I’m a very courageous person, and I never really have. But as we were talking about it, I realized I’ve been in situations where I had to be courageous.

I don’t think about it. I just do what I have to do.

I think this comes from my critical care nurse days. If a patient started to crash, I didn’t have time to panic. I had to act. I had to pull all my knowledge together and do what I could to help that person.

Without realizing it, I would center and ground myself. I’d pull everything inward and open myself to intuition, spirit, guidance, whatever you want to call it.

I was probably one of the first nurses in the United States to defibrillate a patient without a physician present. This was back in the early days, in the 1960s.

A patient went into ventricular fibrillation. I grabbed the paddles, shocked him, and he came back.

To me, it felt like a miracle.

That ability to gather myself and stay calm has served me throughout my life.

Do I think I’m outrageously courageous? No. I read history and think about people who have done incredible things.

But when difficult moments came, I stepped forward. So maybe I’m not as much of a coward as I think I am.

Please, universe, don’t test me.

Sally:
I think that’s part of the challenge, Betty.

When we hear the word “courage,” we often picture warriors, knights, heroic figures. We associate courage with dramatic acts.

But courage can also mean taking one difficult step forward.

Raising your hand and asking a question. Speaking honestly. Doing something even though you’re afraid.

Courage doesn’t have to involve life-threatening danger. It can exist in the simple acts we do every day.

Linda:
I identify with both of you because courage and reinvention often come after things we didn’t expect, like divorce or major life change.

It takes intuition, creativity, and heart to rebuild a life after loss.

Sally:
We talked a lot about fear before this podcast.

Fear of death. Fear of stepping out on your own. Fear of divorce. Fear of financial insecurity. Fear of failure.

It’s not easy to face those things.

That’s why I loved the quote Linda shared. In grief, we often feel alone, but the reality is that others have walked this path before us, and others will walk it after us.

We support each other through that.

Linda:
When I went through divorce, I was fortunate to have three close girlfriends. Two of them had already been through divorce themselves.

They checked on me constantly. They guided me through practical things and emotional things.

Some mornings I woke up and thought, “The sun is still rising. The world is still here.”

Other mornings I was scared, but I took action anyway.

Eventually I came to the idea of reinventing myself. Things had changed. It was time to ask: Who do I want to become now?

Betty:
There have been times in my life when grief completely destroyed me.

But I always knew I was beginning to come out of it when I could hear the birds singing again.

That became my sign.

I think we have to give people grace during grief. Sometimes getting out of bed is the accomplishment.

After Larry died, it took about a year before I felt I was truly emerging from grief.

And I had so much support from my girlfriends. People need that support. They also need permission to grieve.

Don’t rush people through it.

Linda:
That takes courage too.

Betty:
Yes, it does.

Sometimes all you want to do is run away. But eventually you have to sit with it.

I always tell people: give yourself a year. Don’t make huge decisions immediately. Just settle in and experience what’s happening.

Linda:
I was raising a young daughter at the time, so running away didn’t feel possible.

I had to become that stable person for her.

There were still times I was deeply sad. It took me a long time to feel peace about everything.

But things change. We do the best we can.

Betty:
Osha always said, “Tears are a bath for the soul.”

And I remember thinking at one point, “Well, my soul must be sparkling clean by now.”

Sally:
I always look for ways to empower myself.

What can I do today to reclaim some agency? Sometimes it’s something very simple, like getting out of bed and going to work.

Or sitting on the porch and listening to the birds.

What can I do that helps me move forward?

Betty:
Another thing I noticed during grief is that people often avoid you because they don’t know what to say.

Whether it’s divorce, death, retirement, or another major life shift, people sometimes become uncomfortable around grief.

Sally:
Retirement can create that too.

You leave a workplace and suddenly you’re no longer part of the group identity. Relationships change.

People can become isolated very easily after retirement if they don’t find new forms of purpose and community.

Linda:
That sense of self tied to career can really shift.

Betty:
That’s why I always tell people: if you’re going to retire, have a plan.

Have something that gets you up in the morning.

Volunteer. Write memoirs. Join a community group. Do something that gives your life focus and meaning.

Sally:
Research supports that too. People tend to live longer when they have purpose and community.

So maybe the wisdom practice here is this:

What is your purpose?

And if it’s changing, what do you want it to become?

That’s where intuition comes in.

Linda:
And community matters so much.

Maybe it’s a hiking group, a church, a crafting group, a library event, a civic organization.

There are so many ways to reconnect.

Betty:
But courage comes in because you still have to walk through the door.

You don’t know anyone. You wonder if they’ll accept you.

I always call it jumping off the cliff. Eventually I just say, “Oh, the heck with it,” and jump.

If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

Linda:
This has been really interesting.

Is there one thing we’d each like to leave our listeners with?

Betty:
I’d love to hear from listeners.

When did you have to be courageous? What did you do after retirement? What happened when life fell apart?

You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at TwoCronesandaMicrophone.com.

Remember that quote: you are not alone.

Sally:
And courage doesn’t have to mean charging into battle on a horse.

Sometimes courage is simply walking into the library and joining a book group.

Linda:
We’re going to continue exploring these ideas.

Next time, we’ll begin talking about labyrinths — walking them, building them, using them for healing, clarity, and intuition.

So gather your labyrinths if you have them.

Betty:
Linda is our labyrinth queen.

Sally:
We’ll also talk about practical strategies for developing intuition.

Linda:
Thank you for joining us.

We hope you gathered some inspiration and insight from this conversation.

Remember: sometimes it feels like we’re all alone, but there are caring people and deep resources around us.

The earth itself is here to support us.

So for now, goodbye — and go find your glimmer.

Betty:
Remember, we’re helping you navigate the muddy waters of our time.

Sally:
And always remember to look around and know that you walk in beauty.

Kadish. All is made beautiful.

All:
Bye-bye.