Courage

Courage, by its very nature, involves fear.  We all aspire to courage, particularly our young people who are barraged by a never ending array of superheroes, Jams Bond, Nikita, and video games.  Our kids want to know if they have courage, but in our sanitized lifestyles, where is courage to be found?

We found it on the gig today.  The assignment was to back up into the tugboat and touch the tire without actually touching the boat or letting the gig touch it.  For a thirteen year old cox, this is a serious challenge.  The wind blowing.  The behemoth sized vessel looming up on us, the responsibility of steering backwards.  It’s a lot to manage.

Of course she succeeded.  She slapped the tire and pushed us off.  Were we in any real danger?  Absolutely not.  That’s not the point.  The kids, especially the cox, felt danger.  She felt fear.  And she faced that fear and accomplished the task at hand.

That, in any culture, is the definition of courage.