Sunday Inspiration: “Courage is the most important of all virtues…”
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” ―
Who needs Halloween when there is so much to be afraid of every single day? I think we all feel a little like the cowardly lion struggling to find his inner courage.
But Maya Angelo is correct: without courage all the other virtues are meaningless because courage empowers everything good that we do.
When I’m looking for my inner courage I search for others who have found theirs, whether that be the cowardly lion or heroes and heroines in novels or real life heroes who have the courage not only to be kind and compassionate but who act on those virtues to help those around them.
I’m not sure how people have the courage to fight for their lives against the merciless coronavirus or how they have the courage to stand by loved ones who are suffering during the pandemic. How about the politicians who are trying to stand firm against science deniers who ridicule and humiliate others for doing their part to keep the rest of us healthy? And what about the courage needed by nurses and doctors who risk their lives to treat those who are already stricken? I hope my courage will never be tested in those way.
I will try to grow my courage little by little in the hope that when and if I am tested by fate, I will be able to use my courage to empower kindness and compassion.
Have you been called on to be more courageous since the pandemic began? Do you have thoughts to share how you’re coping? Has someone in your life showed courage you admire?
This Sunday Inspiration was especially beautiful. The combination of Maya Angelo’s quote and your words were truly inspirational!
There are some days when one has to dig deep to find something good about the day to come or the day that has passed but we do dig and there is always something good to find. The first thing to find is that we have made it through that day. That is a good thing and it gives us the courage to go on to yet another day. I feel blessed that in my lifetime I have found so many of those good days. And I look forward to good days in my future.
I just started reading one of your novels, When We Were Sisters, and being a book aficionado, always searching for the next good author to follow, I found your website. Of course, I discovered your blog, and this blog on courage invites me to respond to your question, Has someone in your life showed courage you admire?
I’d like to share with you a story about my stepdaughter, Marie, who has shown remarkable courage, starting as a young child, in the face of much trauma. To tell this story of her courage and inspiration, I wrote a blog entitled Teachers Along Life’s Path, which can be found at https://oppeace.org/blog/2021/10/08/teachers-along-lifes-path/. Although the audience for this blog is for women discerning a call to religious life, it’s message is foremost about the lessons I’ve learned from my stepdaughter, and courage is one of these lessons.
Today, as a kidney dialysis patient, she has been told that her best chance for survival is to receive a kidney from a living donor. Her story of courage throughout this health trial has been fraught with so many setbacks. She refuses to give in and to give up though on herself. So, her father and I created a video to tell her story and have posted it on YouTube. Perhaps your readers will view this video and share it with others so that more people, like Marie, who need living donors will consider giving the gift of life and hope to another.
https://youtu.be/gVCtcFeD6JA