Courage

If you ask me to write down my virtues, I wouldn’t have written courage as one of them.  It would have surprised a lot of my friends, family and colleagues, knowing I have had plenty of situations and circumstances where I did or went through things rather stoically or heroically.  Maybe I am brave. Courageous ? No. 

I am trying to build courage in me in the fifth decade of my life.  Courage I feel is the king of all virtues, without which each virtue can crack under duress.  But in some ways, liberating.

Courage differs from bravery in the aspect of mindfulness ….  When one consciously and mindfully follows or does something that can be difficult or even dangerous.  It not only needs clarity of thought,  conviction but also resilience. 

Do we raise our children to be courageous or adventurous ?  Courage comes from strong moral compass, when you know it may be difficult or dangerous , but it’s the right thing to do.  To be able to accept the consequences of the action. To be able to stand alone if necessary.  

It takes courage to :

• Walk away when close friends, family and peers are crossing limits
• To stand up to the bully in the park or school bus or workplace
• To speak up when you see something wrong no matter who it is
• To be honest about yourself , be vulnerable
• To choose to stop unhealthy behavior from continuing
• To stop thinking of how you are being judged
• To do the right thing anyway

I have seen some show tremendous courage and my admiration has grown for them.  What is it that maketh that person ?   

Our older generations told tales and folklores of meaning and moral values across the world.  It was to build the moral compass of a generation, so that they find the courage within to do the right thing.  Gone are the days of sitting around the fire listening to tales , or lying in the lap of grandmothers in the afternoon listening to the tales .  With that , have we lost courage ?   Are we all just brave? … and do we value the brave now ?  Do we tell our children to be pragmatic and therefore coerce them away ?   Where does it leave us as a society ?

I have no answers.