A good friend of mine had her husband of many years die. Early in her grieving she had spent time with her daughter. But the time came when she went home to deal with living in a house alone instead of with him. As the daughter left her she said, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

When she told me that, it brought tears to my eyes. But even hearing it, I squared my shoulders and sat straighter and felt stronger myself. Later I looked it up and found it was a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), a German writer, artist and politician.

But the power is not in the knowing who said it, who wrote it, and who they were. The power is in the words themselves, given as a gift of encouragement to a loved one who is walking alone. I’m tucking it in my memory bank to pull out when I need access to some mighty forces so that I can be spurred to be bold.

Thanks Goethe!

The post Be Bold appeared first on Ann Freeman Price.