There's one tradition in our house that never varies at holiday time - Mother Pearson's Corn Bread Dressing. My husband's parents were Tennessee cotton farmers whose table (so I'm told) was always brimming, and this dressing was a Thanksgiving staple.  It has a few items that are healthy - chicken broth, celery, onion - and a whole lotta stuff that's not so healthy - sausage, cornbread, bacon and butter - but combined it's pure heaven and well worth the calories! 
 
Now we all know that before you tackle a recipe, a trip through the pantry is a must.  You've got to know what you have on hand before you can begin.  I do that on Monday before Thanksgiving.  Tuesday I shop and Wednesday I make the cornbread.  All the gooey goodness gets hand mixed on Thanksgiving morning. 
 
You're wondering what this mouth watering story has to do with courage, aren't you?  Well, knowing what's in your personal pantry is an inspiration when your courage is tested.  You've got to know what you have before you try to use it.  And as I said a few months ago, it's not necessary to have bulging muscles or a steel jaw to be courageous.  Strong personality traits are the order of the day when our courage is tested.
 
Being committed, overcoming what overwhelms you, understanding, resilient, action-oriented, gritty and, engaging are all valuable courage attributes.  In fact if you take the first letter of each of those words or phrases, you'll see that it spells out courage.  What traits do you have that will help you when you need to be courageous?  Use your own name to come up with qualities you either have or would like to develop.  I would select just, understanding, dedicated, and youthful (at least mentally!) to spell out my name.  And I can certainly stand to polish all of them up!
 
It's a shame that we've all been taught that it's wrong to be boastful about who we are or what we have.  I give you permission to change that.  At least in your own mind.  It's important to feel good about ourselves, and a careful (albeit private) review of our personality characteristics is just what the courage doctor ordered.
 
Finally, at this time of thanksgiving, I'd like to offer another twist.  Instead of being thankful for what you have, be thankful for what you are.  It's more important to you and to others, and will certainly be invaluable the next time you need to call on your courage.  Many blessings!