Courage , as Webster defines it, is the ability to conquer fear or despair; bravery; valor. It can also be defined as a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain without showing fear. Not the absence of fear, but rather the willingness to walk through it. When we face anything we think as difficult, dangerous or painful.
In the Bible, courage is confidence or assurance in speech, virtual, moral excellence, fearlessness, valor. Throughout the Bible there are examples of what 'courage' is or should be.
There are many ways to show courage or to have courage. Growing up, we all must have some amount of courage to learn and explore new things. Of course , we all should have courage of some kind our whole life. Willing to try and learn things we don't understand or don't know.
At first, I think, when I was little, I had courage or at least curiosity (having a desire to investigate and learn). I didn't really think of being afraid growing up and wanting to explore the world. I am part of that generation that grew up 'outside', so to speak. Always outside, playing some type of ball, riding bikes and dirt bikes. Climbing trees and well you get the picture. Being young, I didn't think about the courage needed or that I showed it until I was older.
Showing courage, facing the unknown was what I did, for instance, when I tried out for the girls basketball team and made it! (Still have 'no idea' how that happened.) Trying out for cheerleading and making that squad, four years total. Those were things that took courage. Having the courage to follow through. No one ever said you had to show or have courage just to get started. No, the times we need to have courage, we need to see things all the way through to the other side. To me that is courage. Starting something unknown or unfamiliar to me, but moving forward to the other side no matter what.
My recovery process has shown me things that I had to have courage in order to do what is needed for my recovery. And, I must admit that there were times when I was using that I had to have or show courage.
We all can show courage on a daily basis by trying new foods, asking someone out to eat, standing up for your beliefs and the list goes on and on. Just the most common things we do can show courage. Harriet Tubman lead slaves to freedom on the underground railroad; Courage. Rosa Parks refused to give yo her seat on the bus; Courage. Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for equal rights among men; Courage. And there are countless others in our nation's history who have shown such great courage.
Sailing to unknown worlds, Christopher Columbus had great courage. We even grew up knowing that the 'Cowardly Lion' from Oz would find the courage he had been searching for. We teach our children to have courage or to be brave by showing them love, sharing our own life experiences of courage and giving them encouragement.
Ernest Hemingway said "Courage is grace under pressure." E E Cummings said "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." Winston Churchill is quoted saying, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." "Courage is what it takes to sit down and listen." Mark Twain, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." Theodore Roosevelt said, "Believe yo can and you're halfway there. Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength." John Wayne stated "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." Joyce Meyer "We need a back bone, not a wishbone." Plato said "Courage is knowing what not to fear." Amelia Earhart said "Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace." Andrew Jackson "One man with courage makes a majority." Betty Davis said "The key to life is accepting challenges. Once one stops doing that, he is dead." Napoleon said "Courage is like love, it must have hope for nourishment." And Stephen King is quoted "Sooner or later even the fastest runners have to stand and fight."
So, with all this being said, for me, the ultimate show of courage and exactly what it means, in addition to the numerous examples from the ancient men of faith, that is the supreme example of Jesus Christ who "despised the shame" of the cross and endured 'opposition from sinners' leaving us an example so we will not grow weary and lose heart. And there are others throughout the Bible that showed, or were great examples of, courage: Abraham, Gideon, Ezra, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, David, Peter, John, Daniel, Nehamiah, Jesus disciples and the apostles Paul, Jonathan, Elijah; and Jesus Christ himself.
So courage is knowing what is at stake, having fear of failure, but going through it in order to grow from it. Having healthy fear, but courage, to face that fear. Dealing with it and then moving on.
Recovery, I know for me, took lots of courage. I knew that my family was going to be very disappointed in me. Some families cut ties with the addict in the family never to regain a connection. Man, I was luckily and I thank God everyday for giving me the courage to say I needed help. I didn't know what to do. I just said to please take me somewhere that I could get help. My family listened. Calls were made, trips to ERs were made. Had to go to two different ERs because the first one would not listen to what I wanted. All they saw was a lady high and demanding to be sent somewhere for help.
Anyway, when I first entered into recovery, I was scared. Afraid of the unknown. A family member who had been through something similar told me the day I left for treatment to "do what they tell you to do." If I was not going to listen to them then there was no need to go. Don't ask why, just do it. I said "okay, I will." And from that moment I first stepped into the treatment facility, I did my very best to listen and do as I was told to do.
I was so scared. I don't ever remember being and feeling that alone. No family, friends or even a familiar face or two. I found some courage somewhere, somehow and did what was asked of me. Listening, learning all that I could. As the days rolled on, things started to get a little better. My mind was clearing. I felt and looked better than I had in a very long time.
As I write this, I realize that we all have some kind or level of courage each and everyday. We have it just to get up every day and go to work, school or wherever or whatever you do daily. Just to get up and face life on life's terms takes a great amount of courage. There are challenges each and everyday for us all, but with courage, we face it and handle all that may come our way.
Courage is, it appears to me to be, a principle that is used continuously through out each day, each hour, each minute. Everything we do takes some amount of courage. No matter how small or big, courage is needed. WOW!!! That is so awesome to realize that I have been using this principle in my life each and everyday I have lived.. That is, just, well, mind boggling!!
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