Today’s blog post marks a milestone that I never thought about reaching.
One of my challenges in life is I often start things without much of a plan or thought.
This blog would certainly fall into that category.
When I started it seemed like a good idea to share my thoughts on a character trait that doesn’t get much conversation; courage.
If you’ve read my blog or seen me speak you know that I like to say that courage and fear are not things we talk about much.
Courage is a word that is often reserved for soldiers and firemen and policemen.
We don’t call up our friends and say, “let’s go get a cup of coffee or grab a beer and while we’re together let’s talk about our fears!”
Yet, when people I meet hear what I talk about they often tell me they could use a shot of courage. They tell me about difficult conversations they need to have with a spouse, or a child, or an aging parent.
They tell me about staying quiet in a meeting when they disagreed with their boss. They tell me about not stepping in when someone was being hurt physically or emotionally.
Because I have such an awareness of courage, or lack of it in my own life, I see opportunities for courage all around me.
This past week as I drove through town I saw a man and a woman in a heated argument on the sidewalk of a busy street. They were face to face yelling at each other.
I watched as the man walked away and the woman went after him. She grabbed his arm and he quickly turned and pulled away.
I’m not sure I would have done what I did that day a year ago. I pulled over and watched in my rear view mirror.
While I didn’t want to get involved I felt I needed to courageously be ready to be involved if he hit her.
Wisely, as the man pulled away from her grasp he quickly got in his car and drove away.
As I watched the verbal confrontation my heart had begun to race as I anticipated needing to get involved.
Courage requires one to be uncomfortable. Courage often requires a price. Courage is needed everyday.
What have I learned over these last 100 blog posts?
The need for courage is even more prevalent than I thought when I started.
Courage is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets.
Courage allows me to sleep better at night.
Courage is a very personal trait. What requires courage for one may be very easy for another.
Courage, or lack thereof, knows no rank.
Fear shows up in things like blame, judgment, shame, arrogance, bullying and in so many other ways.
Thank you for being a reader of my blog. I hope that in some small way it has helped you to live a more courageous and less fearful life. I’m honored and blessed that you would take time out of your busy days to engage.
Thank you, as well, to those of you who have commented and shared. I relish your thoughts, good and bad, as well as the opportunity to interact with you and get your thoughts and feelings on courage.
C is for Courage but C is also the Roman numeral for 100. Coincidence? I think not!
Joshua 1:9
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
Only 900 more to go to get to 1000! Keep writing. We’ll keep reading.