"An immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void"

"I just feel like I'm heading into the abyss" said John. "It's like I can't see how things can get better - it just seems darker and darker when I think of the the future"

Dave looked at John and could see the pain in his eyes.  He had tried for so long to make a success of his new venture but John was now at the end of his rope.  Dave could see that John couldn't take much more.  He wanted to take away some of the pain but didn't know how.  "It can't be the end John" he said gently, "there must be another way".

John looked up from the ground where he had been staring and looked deeply into his brothers eyes.  Tears fell onto his cheeks as he put his hand on his brothers shoulder. "Dave, I have done everything I can - it's over."

Dave felt helpless.  How could he help his younger brother in his moment of need?  How could he comfort him when it was clear that John felt he was falling into the abyss of despair?  And then it came to him.  There was only one thing he could do.  And that was to love him.  Love him like he'd never loved him before.

"John" said Dave softly.  "I don't know how you'll get through this, but you will.  There is no such thing as the abyss.  You cannot fall forever.  At some point, the answers will come.  Some may be tough to take, but the answers are there.  And I'll be with you every step of the way and each time you fall, I'll be there to pick you up.  Each time you fail to find the answer will be just another step closer to the answer being revealed to you. You must never stop looking.  The darkness that is the abyss, is simply a tunnel that leads to the light...."

John turned to Dave, eyes red with tears and shoulders hunched with the pressure of months of trying and failing to find the answers.  "I'm not sure I have the energy to carry on looking Dave" he said.  "I'm burnt out".

"You may be burned John, but you are never burnt out.  Within you, somewhere deep inside your soul, there is a spark of light that never goes out.  We just need to find it and I'll help you start again".  Dave held his brother and they wept together.

After a few moments, John turned to Dave and looked into his eyes.  "I guess love is the answer John, I just need to remember that I'm loved and it gives me the strength to carry on".

And in that moment, the abyss moved away.  It was no longer a heavy presence that loomed dark and terrifying on the horizon.  John felt loved and this was all he needed to re-build his spirit and try to succeed one more time....

Love, Wisdom and Courage are not things that we can ever lose, but they are things that we can distance ourselves from, if we so choose - and at various times in our lives, we may indeed have made that choice to pretend that we lack Love or we lack Wisdom or we lack Courage, and if we do play this game, then we think, speak and act accordingly.
 
But in truth, these things, and more, are always there, just waiting for us to come back home to them. And the road back to them, looks like this:
 
The farthest place away from Courage, Love and Wisdom that our minds can get to is a place called "Stupid".  Stupid is a place where everything we might think, say or do is done entirely out of some kind of fear. A lot of very clever and powerful people live here....
 
Then, right next door to Stupid, is a place called "Foolish." And yes, it's a bit better to practice Foolhardiness than Stupidity, because here at least there is some thinking involved, but there is not a lot of difference between the practice of Stupidity and Foolhardiness.
 
A short distance away from Foolhardy is a much better place, called "Bold" - where people practice "Boldness". When people are here and they think, say or do something that is Bold, it s a big step in the right direction on the road back to Courage. But fear is still a big driver here, if you are just being Bold.
 
Further up the road, is a place called "Brave" where there is a huge difference between the practice of genuine Bravery, as compared to the practice of Boldness.  Here, even though there may still be some Fear lurking about in the background, fear is in its place and it is no longer in control.  Here the main driver is "Thought," and this place is not far from true Courage at all.
 
The next place on this important road is Courage, named after e French word Le Coeur, which means "The Heart" and naturally it takes Courage to get here and to live here. But the great thing is that this place is actually above fear. Fear has no place whatsoever here.
 
Here in Courage the only driver is faith, which comes from a knowing that is above ordinary thought. Indeed it actually takes a real leap of faith to get here, but once you are here, you find that people just think whatever needs to be thought, they say whatever needs to be said, and they do whatever needs to be done - wholeheartedly, with no logical thinking involved, and no fear involved whatsoever.
 
If you are wondering what is beyond Courage, because that is not the end of the road, there is always "More".  The More that is just beyond true Courage is true Love because amazing and wonderful as true Courage is, it is really just the doorway to Love..."

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