A Thought on Courage and the Courageous

In today’s world, many qualities are admired: wealth, power, beauty, even sarcasm.  Things like honor, and duty, and integrity are often undermined in the all-consuming rat race that now dominates the world. While wealth, power, and beauty are not inherently bad things, there are qualities that are more important, and that time is better spent pursuing. One of them is courage. Courage. One simple, two syllable word that represents so much of what the human spirit is comprised of. It never ceases to amaze me how much courage a single person can possess. I don’t speak of the false image of courage that society has painted for us; courage painted by a manipulation of facts, or exaggerated through embellishment and then paraded on T.V. , the newspaper, and over the radio. On the contrary, I speak of the quiet, determined, courage that only manifests itself under the direst of circumstances. This courage is as a chunk of coal; refined, and purified through tremendous pressure until a stunning diamond is created. This courage is rare. This courage does not manifest itself in victory, but far more often in failure. The courage that I speak of is found in those lonely souls who always seem to fight, and fight, and fight, and yet never seem to gain the inches that they so valiantly strive for but who continue to keep fighting anyway. The indomitable spirit, the need to persevere no matter what; that’s courage. You want to see courage? Don’t look for the mountain climber who climbs the tallest peaks, after all, he likes to climb mountains. Don’t look to the warrior who runs into battle, he’s trained to fight. Instead, look to the youth who has been dealt the lowest hand life has to offer, who has had his dreams trodden on for as long as he can remember and yet he still maintains his hope for a better life and seeks to change his circumstances.   That’s courage.  Often, the truly courageous are those who endure mortality’s hardships without complaint, with a smile upon their lips, thankful for the hope that this life provides for them.  They are often the quiet ones, going about their business without pride or vanity, seeking to make the world better than they found it.  To many, they may seem ordinary, unremarkable, and not worth a second glance. But underneath the exterior, lies the diamond in the rough. So the next time you need a hero, try and fine one of these people. Chances are you know one.