On Courage, Faith, and Choosing Love

A Reflection for MLK Day

In honor of MLK Day, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes—words that speak to courage, faith, perseverance, and love.

Not just as ideas that shape the world around us, but as truths that shape the world within us.

Because the same inner work required to move humanity forward is the same inner work required to manifest our desires.

As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, progress doesn’t come from perfection, certainty, or having the full picture. It comes from movement—at any pace.

“If you can’t fly, then run.
If you can’t run, then walk.
If you can’t walk, then crawl,
but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

This applies to healing.
To building something meaningful.
To becoming who you’re meant to be.

The Cost of Growth

“Nothing worthwhile is gained without sacrifice.”

Nothing meaningful—externally or internally—comes without cost.

Often, what we’re asked to sacrifice isn’t something physical, but something deeper: comfort, old identities, familiar patterns, beliefs rooted in fear. Growth asks us to loosen our grip on who we’ve been so we can become who we’re meant to be.

And still, we are not powerless in this process.

“I refuse to accept the idea that man is merely a flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him.”

We are not passive observers of life.

We are creators.
Participants.
Active agents of change.

Courage, Faith, and the Inner Decision

“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles.”

Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s a decision.
A quiet, internal choice to move anyway.

That inner resolution is what shifts timelines.
It’s what turns vision into embodiment.

Which is why faith matters so deeply.

“We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.”

Faith doesn’t require seeing the whole plan.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

This is manifestation in its truest form.
Movement before evidence.
Trust before proof.

Love as the Root

At the center of it all is the truth that anchors everything:

“I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind’s problems.”

There are only two core emotions: love and fear.
Everything else flows from them.

When we choose love—over fear, contraction, and separation—we don’t just transform our own lives. We create a ripple that touches the collective.

Today, may we honor Dr. King not only in remembrance, but in embodiment.

By choosing courage.
By choosing faith.
By choosing love.