Courage.
We often think of courage as that rare quality only reserved for heroes and martyrs.
When we hear the word courage, we often see the heroic life of a soldier, a fire fighter, or a police officer. There is nothing wrong with our imagination, but I wish we could hold our concentration a tiny bit longer.
I wish we could see beyond the smoke brewing in the distance. I wish we had the patience to sustain our gaze and see the others.
I wish we could see all the men and women we ignore with our impatience. We miss them because we lack imagination. We willingly give up our skill of concentration.
These men and women beyond the smoke are important.
Give them a chance and see them.
See the courage of the man in the early twilight of his yesteryears. Gray hair, or no hair at all. He leaves everything behind that he holds so dear. He comes to a new country he will never call home or ever hope to understand. He comes to begin his life anew.
He does this with courage. With a smile and open arms. He thinks of his young children who need him and only long to be happy. It is for them he gives up everything; his extended family, his language, memories, and all his childhood friends.
With great courage, and without looking back, he lays down his life.
His gives the gift of courage as he writes a promissory love letter to his children.
Ecce Homo. Behold the man
Don’t fold your imagination, as he sits next to you tomorrow.
Be inspired by his presence.
You should take the time to see the courage of a woman. A mother and a wife. A partner that bleeds and bruises with puss protecting her vulnerable children from the alcoholic who once shared the mind and body of her beloved husband.
The morning after the storm, she smiles. She gets herself ready and prepares her children’s lunches, reassuring them that everything will be better.
Tomorrow will be better.
She too doesn’t lack any courage.
But once again, if we are failed by our imagination, we will miss her serving us our coffee in the morning.
Courage.
Go look in the mirror.
Embrace the person you’ve always known. Embrace the person you always ignore.
See beyond the smoke. See your courage.
Seen or unseen. Felt or unfelt. Imagined or unimagined.
You and I are people of courage.
Let’s go and act accordingly.
