What does it mean to have courage? Well. I suppose it is the ability to do something that scares us. I think to have courage doesn’t mean you’re fearless. Instead, it just means that we keep moving even though we are afraid. We don’t let our fear pin us to the ground.
When we think of courage, we might imagine a soldier on the battlefield or a firefighter rushing into a burning building. But courage can mean a lot of different things to different people.
You know? Some days, the world asks a little more of us. A little more steadiness, a little more honesty. Maybe something is just “going on” in our lives, and we need to show a little more courage than we thought we had.
Courage can be facing an illness. Or sticking to a commitment. Or simply waking up when we felt like staying in bed.
I came across these two quotes recently, and they’re having a quiet conversation with each other. One is about meeting the moment, and the other is about not waiting for perfect conditions that will never come.
“Be courageous and face this moment in time consciously and with all the discernment and clarity within your power.” — James O’Dea
“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.” — Hugh Laurie
Isn’t that the truth? So often, we spend time convincing ourselves we need one more sign. We need one more check mark in the plus column. We hope for one more tidy row of ducks. Any of this before we step forward.
But life rarely hands us a neat checklist. It hands us a moment. And then another. And then one that scares us a little.
I keep thinking about courage. Not so much the big, purple heart kind of courage. But instead, the everyday, scruffy kind. The little moments when we tell ourselves to keep going. Wherever that may be. Those times when we show up with shaky hands and try to thread the needle despite it all.
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“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
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“Courage is grace under pressure.” — Ernest Hemingway
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“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E.E. Cummings
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