Donning the Law of the Day

Willing to act while the fear is still in the room — heart, not the absence of fear.

1. 01Having or showing courage; brave
2. 02Able to face danger, difficulty or pain without turning back
3. 03Acting rightly when it costs something to do so
4. 04Not deterred by the risk of loss
5. 05Bold in undertaking what others avoid
6. 06Firm in spirit under pressure
7. 07From cor, the heart — full of heart
8. 08Willing to be the first to move
9. 09Steady in the presence of fear rather than free of it
10. 10Daring, but on purpose and for a reason

Able to be met, tested and questioned — and still standing when the test is over.

1. 01Open to being challenged, questioned or contested
2. 02Able to be called to account without collapsing
3. 03Willing to have her claim examined
4. 04Answerable — she will take the question
5. 05Contestable: she does not hide behind position
6. 06Able to be summoned to a trial of strength
7. 07Prepared to be tested, and expecting to be
8. 08Unafraid of scrutiny because there is substance underneath
9. 09One who invites the hard question rather than dodging it
10. 10Fit to be matched against something

Kid leather — soft, pliable, stretching far under pressure and never tearing.

1. 01Made of kid leather; of the skin of a young goat
2. 02Soft and pliant, yet uncommonly strong
3. 03Flexible — able to stretch without splitting
4. 04Yielding to the hand and returning to shape
5. 05Supple through being worked, not through being weak
6. 06Of a conscience or a nature: easily stretched, hard to break
7. 07Tanned — made durable by process
8. 08Fine-grained and tough at once
9. 09Bending in wind because the root is deep
10. 10Trusted for gloves and bindings because it holds

To take the step — the willingness to try is the whole of courage in the Novice.

1. 01To try hard to do or achieve something
2. 02To attempt with effort rather than wish without movement
3. 03To take the step that is in front of you
4. 04To apply yourself to an undertaking
5. 05To exert yourself toward a purpose
6. 06To set about a thing rather than wait for a better moment
7. 07To strive — effort directed at a real end
8. 08To use the occasion at hand as the place to begin
9. 09To be willing before you are ready
10. 10To do something with the moment instead of watching it pass

To meet the thing face to face — no longer attempting it from a distance.

1. 01To meet, especially unexpectedly
2. 02To come up against a difficulty or opposition
3. 03To be faced with something and deal with it
4. 04To meet an adversary in conflict
5. 05To come into the presence of a person or a force
6. 06To experience something directly rather than in theory
7. 07To confront what is in the road
8. 08To run into and engage rather than avoid
9. 09To meet head-on, at close range
10. 10To take the meeting instead of postponing it

To put courage into somebody — the courage she was given, handed on.

1. 01To give courage or confidence to someone
2. 02To make bold; to hearten
3. 03To encourage a person to act despite fear
4. 04To strengthen the nerve of another
5. 05To make a thing stand out more strongly
6. 06To empower by removing the fear of the attempt
7. 07To fortify the spirit of one who is wavering
8. 08To urge on with confidence rather than pressure
9. 09To back somebody so that she moves
10. 10To make courage contagious

The moment that presents itself — the opening you encounter into.

1. 01A particular time when something happens
2. 02A suitable moment or opportunity for a thing
3. 03An event or gathering of some importance
4. 04The cause or reason that brings a thing about
5. 05A juncture — a point at which action becomes possible
6. 06A special or notable time worth rising to
7. 07The circumstance that gives an act its opening
8. 08A moment offered rather than made
9. 09The right season for an attempt
10. 10A need or ground for doing something

One who gets over — hurdle jumped or hurdle walked around, she ends up on the other side.

1. 01One who prevails over difficulty or opposition
2. 02A person who gets past what was set against her
3. 03A conqueror — one who wins through rather than around the truth
4. 04One who surmounts an obstacle
5. 05A survivor who did not merely endure but passed through
6. 06One who masters a thing that once mastered her
7. 07A victor by persistence rather than force
8. 08One who finds the way over, under or around
9. 09A woman who is not stopped by being stopped
10. 10One whose record is of things already beaten

The ledger of what has already been beaten — plural, and each one makes the next smaller.

1. 01Things that have been prevailed over
2. 02Victories won over difficulty, one by one
3. 03A record of obstacles already passed
4. 04Conquests of what once had authority over you
5. 05Triumphs accumulated rather than isolated
6. 06The evidence a woman carries of her own endurance
7. 07Storms withstood and named
8. 08Hurdles cleared, kept as proof
9. 09Increase measured in what no longer stops you
10. 10The inheritance courage leaves behind it