Thought for The Day: Boldness be my Friend!
Boldness be my friend!
Arm me, audacity, from head to foot!
Iachimo is the villain of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and a Roman in Ancient Briton. You may not have even heard of the play. It’s a relatively tedious and unpopular play that one commentator described as Shakespeare bored, creating self parody. Worse, Iachimo’s plot involves falsely impugning the integrity of a young Briton woman named Imogen. Let’s be clear that impugning the integrity means slut-shaming. It was what people did back then. Towards the end the play he confesses and is forgiven as is the nature of comedies. Or romances. Or whatever is going on with this play. The play isn’t that important to me, except this quote: “Boldness, be my friend! Arm me, Audacity, from head to foot!”
I am comfortable pulling this quote out of context and looking at it as a unique sentiment that can stand on its own.
On its own it stands well.
I have just joined a health and exercise group called the Bold City Superhero Alliance. Why the goofy name? Well, first off we are nerds who enjoy superhero narratives, but mostly because change requires boldness. Life requires boldness. Life requires change and growth. Boldness is our anthem; boldness is our key asset. We want to live in Bold City, and be bold citizens.
Boldness is not recklessness. Boldness is surety in pursuit of something worth pursuing. Rather than randomly plunging forward with fool-heartiness and abandon, boldness is a measured and calculated exercise in bravery over fear. It is standing up for what is right and taking those steps forward.
Boldness says:
- I am who I am
- I am going where I am going
- I am doing what I am doing
It is unapologetic not because it disregards what is right and sane and healthy, but because it is part and parcel of the best approach. It prevents half measures, and encourages dedication and commitment.
Boldness is a underpinning of our personal quests and the bridge across chasms of doubt and second guessing. Today I am using boldness to work through my body’s unwillingness to cooperate and revisit what I eat and drink. I will be using boldness to uncover and evaluate career opportunities, and even to embrace my hobbies for this year.
Your need may be to get through the day without punching a co-worker, creating a lasting piece of art, or being the loving person someone needs you to be right now. You might be fighting an illness, resolving lingering fears and anxieties, or unable to escape an bad situation. Boldness is needed in all of these cases.
I have noticed a trend of people objecting to anthropomorphize concepts and ideas. This poetic conceit has worked well for millennia. Do not believe Audacity is a person waiting to come in and give you a hot beverage and a pat on the back, but use a creative motif, if you will, to align your soul with the Genius of Boldness, in the ancient sense of the word.
Today is Tuesday, the day anything can happen. Embrace today. Make it yours. Make Boldness your friend today. Call out to Audacity, “Hey, equip me head to toe for my journey today.”
And, go kick some ass.