Thursday, March 12, 2009

Quiet Courage (#41)

Courage can be described as, "mental or moral strength to persevere...". Courage is an act or thought whose intentional/unintentional motivation generally exhibits an acceptable outcome. Some examples of courage are less conspicuous or never recognizable. The quiet courage to abstain from a temptation of selfishness is an example of fortitude without recognition except by the person abstaining. All humans have the character trait of courage. Where and when to apply our courage is the ongoing process we are privileged to decide. Much of my life has been spent without clear direction as to how to manage my own personal thoughts and abilities. Instead of formulating my principles to match my actions, as in a formed outline, I lived a lazy patchwork type life like I was some giant computer who was constantly processing information on the spot. This thinking had me believe I would always do what was right because I was in control of my gathered information. How very elitist my thinking was. Having an outline based on my principles is how I attempt to formulate my responses today. The inner courage I know today is to live life based on principles of honor. There are many honorable principles, quiet courage being one.

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