“ Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain
Courage is about the ability to face difficulty, danger or pain without succumbing to fear. To stand up for those who cannot, to believe in the greater good.
It is the ability to tell the person you love that you have those feelings for them. It is the ability to stand up to bullies and to talk in front of a hall full of strangers.
The highest military honour in the United Kingdom is that of the Victoria Cross. It is awarded to those who show courage under fire. Receivers of the honour have many great tales, but if you speak to them of the actions that won them that honour, they do not think of themselves as courageous.
“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.”
John Quincy Adams
The philosophy of the gentleman throughout his history is one based on the core principle of courage. Dating as far back as the Code of Chivalry, a true Knight showed he could protect the weak and fight evil. This required Courage, not just for combat or the ability to face Danger, but the ability to do something drastically outside your comfort Zone.
It requires considerable strength to show the courage of your convictions, as did Gandhi, Rosa Parks or Maximilian Kolbe. These people and many like them have stood up for what they thought was right and risked death to do it.
Young Stephen Sutton, here in Great Britain, who had the immense courage to face a terminal illness, battle through and raise a huge amount for charity. To continue in the face of such odds and do things for others, that is courage.
Courage does not need the grand gesture, it can be as simple as giving someone a shoulder to lean on, when you would rather not.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Winston Churchill
A Gentleman’s Hint:
Start small. Stand up for your personal convictions. If you believe in something do not be afraid to defend it.
