Courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to move forward despite it. It is the quiet resolve to speak your truth, to walk your own path, to stand firm when the ground beneath you shifts. Freedom is born when you refuse to be ruled by what frightens you. Each act of courage loosens another chain, opening the space to live more fully. Happiness follows not because life is without challenge, but because you meet it unbound — brave enough to be wholly yourself.