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The Wizard of Oz is a delightful fairy tale, written by L Frank Baum. To refresh our memories and to get a powerful message.

The story is of a little girl, Dorothy, who is whisked away from her home by a tornado and taken to a magical land of Oz. She goes in search of the Great Wizard of Oz to ask for his help in returning to her own home. Along the way she has many perilous adventures and meets some delightful traveling companions, each of whom has his own reason for seeking the Great Wizard.

One of these companions is the Cowardly Lion. This lion, who as King of the Beasts thinks that he should never feel fear, is seeking courage. After many frightening experiences in which the lion, besides his fears of being cowardly, is a stalwart in helping his friends.They finally confront the wizard with their requests.

"How about my courage?" asks the lion anxiously. "You have plenty of courage for sure". answered Oz. "All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid. That kind of courage you have in plenty." "Perhaps I have, but I'm scared just the same." said the lion. "I shall be very unhappy unless you give me the sort of courage that makes one forget his afraid."

"Very well, I will give you that sort of courage tomorrow." replied Oz. The next day the lion announced that he has come for his courage. He then enters a room and he is told that if was inside of him it would be courage and you know, of course that your courage is inside ; so that this really can't be called courage until you have swallowed it. He advises lion to swallow it as soon as possible. The lion doesn't hesitate and drank till the dish was empty.
"How do you feel now.? asked Oz" Full of courage. " said the lion and joyfully returns back to his friends to tell them of his good fortune. ( The Wizard of Oz) Macmillan Company. Pages 174, 181 - 183.

In this excerpt Oz points out some simple true facts about courage. Everyone knows fear to some extent. Courage is facing what frightens us and doing what we feel is right in spite of the fear. Courage really is inside us. .

Courage to face life's daily challenges and disappointments is, in its own way, as heroic as overcoming fear on a battlefield. When our faith in Deity is strong, we can find within ourselves the ability to face anything which life may brings us. We are and have been born with power, love and a sound mind.

Sources : RS courses of study, Exerpts of The Wizard of Oz, Own content, Pixabay.