Do You Try to Kindle Courage?

The circumstances of life may be hard and difficult, but the spirit soars and rises above every hardship. The body tires until it nearly buckles under the weight of daily life's demands, and here the soul takes wing beyond the bounds of matter. In all this a person finds himself in urgent need of courage and daring. "And how much of this courage is there in our world today?" — so said a certain lady to me, without thinking of the men of sacrifice who throw themselves among the tongues of flame to save children from burning dwellings, nor of the men of public safety who risk their lives as a ransom for security, nor of the armies who carry their souls upon their palms in defense of their homelands in the struggle, not knowing whether they will return to their kin and their loved ones or not — those who gave up pleasures and delights to enroll among the defenders in the fight! My interlocutor was thinking of the courage familiar in our daily talk: of that lady who went on working despite an illness that had drained the wellspring of her life, whose struggle was for a brother's children who soon abandoned her when she was in direst need of their help, as she was facing a dangerous operation — without grumbling or complaint; and my friend likewise mentioned the case of a young man struggling to gather a fortune that would secure his future, when suddenly he lost it, and turned to build anew — but the treasure of courage and hope never ran dry in his heart.

I wonder at the one who feels that he is unlike all others, who senses the pity of other people for him and enjoys the intoxication of this feeling; and there are those who go out before the eyes of the prying with their infirmities, and work on, and bear what their ears must hear of blunt truth spoken abroad.

Money does not do away with the need for courage, nor can it ever take its place; an example of this is a man who remains, in his last days, in a desolate loneliness that floods his splendid house. The lady of whom we spoke was thinking of her daily need for courage: for all her strength, her health, and her zest for life, the days had turned against her. From the time she moved from her dwelling into another atmosphere, the situation changed and she took part in social life, frequenting the clubs; but that lasted only a very short while, after which she soon came back to feel that she was truly a failure in every attempt to practice courage — yet she hid this from the eyes of her acquaintances; indeed she showed the very opposite. And this position is among the hardest in life: that you bear pain and weakness and suffer inward failure, while appearing to the world strong, happy, and brave. Nor is the need for courage any less in contending with others over their errors, or for your own opinions.

One of my friends said: "Is it not courage to stop our ears against the criticism and mockery of others?" Yes — and the need for daring grows in this age in which matter runs riot and the spirit struggles to prove its existence; this had a potent effect in times past, and has it still.

However the circumstances of life may change, courage is an honor in any stand of the mind, a confidence of soul, and a loftiness; it is a quality that eases the hardships of living for whoever keeps it up, and for everyone who comes in touch with it; and it can be acquired — for it is not born with man!