"I have come to believe that we can only discover the capacity and meaning of our courage in the context of our struggles, in how we face and inhabit the challenges life presents to us. In this, courage is an applied art of spirit. It is not something we can manipulate, but only live into. Recovering the Source and living it out in the world, alone and together, is a lifelong devotion. One that we must, ultimately, inhabit alone, but one which we must enliven together," writes poet, philosopher, and teacher Mark Nepo (The Exquisite Risk, The Book of Awakening). In this well-written paperback, he examines courage as a spiritual art — an inner ability to stand by our core and an outer capacity to face all that comes our way.

Nepo provides plenty of illustrative stories of ordinary people who have exhibited this skill. Instead of comparing ourselves unfavorably with these individuals, he challenges us to be inspired by them. "Inspire means to inhale, not measure against," he writes. He then invites us to "inhale these stories, to let them fill your lungs and circle your heart, to let them empower you to stand more firmly by your core and a little taller in the world."

It takes courage to face our demons and to square off with our limitations and vulnerabilities. It takes courage to love what we fear and to wrestle with God. It takes courage to let the heart blossom and to practice the art of encouragement. Nepo covers these abilities in a section called "Facing the Lion."

In "Being the Lion," he examines aliveness and woundedness, the fall into life, near enemies, beginner's heart, breaking patterns, and more. In the final section, "Inner Courage and Where It Lives," Nepo ponders the secret life of detail, our fierce impulse to live, experiments with love, sniffing out what is sacred, humility and awe, and more.

This sturdy spiritual work opens our hearts and minds to courage as a holistic virtue that gives our daily doings breadth and depth of meaning.