What Is Courage?

According to online dictionaries: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty, or The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.

This morning I had posted a comment on LinkedIn about courage and a friend had commented on it which made me think more deeply about the subject.

Is a person who is courageous in general more likely to be courageous in most things? I think so.

I have known people who would not stand up to bullies and they typically are more easily pressured to lie and not stand for righteousness on the job either. I once knew a 50 year old man who lost his position at a large oil company for stealing an electrical cord by carrying it out in his backpack, but the truth was he was taking it for someone else who had pressured him to do it. Even when faced with losing his position he would not tell the truth about the matter to save his own hide and keep his $150 000 a year job. I have seen young boys bullied by overbearing mothers grow up and be abused by vicious manipulative wives.

On the other hand the kid that stood up to the school yard bully and bloodied their nose later became the one that dove into a freezing river in March to save the life of their best friend’s dog. That same person endured years of persecution to become fearless in business, an author and an authority in their realm.

Courage seems to me to be more of a choice and that choice is ongoing so that it becomes a lifestyle.

Do those who have shown a lifestyle of continual moral compromise suddenly change and become a person of solid convictions? Would they suddenly take a stand?

The day on the riverbank there were four people watching the dog die over a 45 minute drama. The young man who was 6 feet tall and strong as thunder tried first. The 15 feet of open water before the thin layer of ice that was 30 feet across to the quivering animal was deceptive. Although the water looked to be open jagged layers of ice cut into the man’s legs as he went deeper into the frozen liquid. He reached the ice layer and attempted to break through with his hands. After a few minutes he retreated bleeding and cursing stumbling up the bank.

Next was the dog’s owner who had been watching in horror. This was more than the family pet for the last 9 years, this was a trusted friend and family member. So this woman had formed a plan. She would pick up a rock to attempt to break through the ice to make a trail for the animal to escape the trap. She plunged into the river and made it through the first few feet of open water and began to smash through the ice with the rock. She had not been prepared however for the force of the river and the depth of the water. As she forged her path the ground beneath her began to disappear and suddenly she was up to her neck in a burning sensation. When she turned around a look of sheer terror was on her face as she fled the river.

Another man stood on the riverbank that day. His name was indecision. Indecision will never meet with courage. He was playing with the idea of using a rope that would not reach the animal and kicking at the ice on the side of the bank as though he was kicking around the idea of doing something while wishing that the whole situation would just go away.

The dog owner was now in a crumbled heap on the river bank sobbing her heart out as she could not reach her beloved pet and all seemed to be lost.

Yet there was one more person there that day. This was the least likely candidate. A woman who hated the cold, a person who was not that physically fit and someone who does not even care much for dogs. Yet this person loved the woman who was sobbing uncontrollably in the dirt. This was the best friend of the one who was in the most pain and although everything seemed to point to ultimate failure this person was one of strong convictions and the strength to never give up. Before the others even knew what was happening she had put on the already wet life jacket and lunged into the river. When the water burned her legs she pushed forward till the numbing overtook the burning. When it got up to her chest she fought past the panic and shut the switch off that screamed of her demise. When she reached the ledge of ice she did not attempt to break through but instead swam up to it and pulled herself onto it moving forward a foot at a time using the weight of her body to crush it beneath her chunk by chunk. As she got closer to the dog she locked eyes with it speaking calmly and then grasped it’s front paws in her hands and with one final push broke through the last few feet of ice taking both her and the animal into the drink. When they came up the path was clear and they pushed and pulled each other back to safety scrambling back to their cheering team on the riverbank.

Courage is a choice. Whether it is a child in a burning building or a dog in a river or facing a gunman we all have a choice to make. Whether the choice is to have the courage to do the right thing, say the right thing, or stand up for the one who can not stand up for themselves all of these take courage in that moment. Whether it turns out well like it did at the river that day or if it has the eternally damning consequences of failure the man of courage takes the stand and makes the decision. Come what may, the choice is made.

I believe it is the smaller choices that we meet head on every day that prepare us for the ultimate choices that we face in those larger moments.

What do you believe?

Do you believe it strong enough to face the frozen river?

Always Loyal2U

Kerry George