Courage
To the sleep walkers
So many people have an idea of what courage is:
The brave knight rescuing the damsel in distress.
The damsel fighting back against a man made world.
The soldier fighting for king and country.
The daredevil.
The conqueror of odds.
The Gryffindors and the Links.
You might be reading this and place yourself
Into one or more of these categories.
Now use that courage that you have mustered
And believe me when I say
That there is more to courage
Than a sword and a cause.
Courage is about sacrifice.
Not sacrificing your opinions out of being polite,
Not sacrificing your favorite foods during Lent,
Not even sacrificing your life in some bloody war.
It’s taking a bullet for the person you hate,
Or selling out to take a job you don’t believe in
To feed your kids,
Or be the lightning rod
For blame and abuse.
It’s giving up your own self righteousness
To admit to being wrong,
To apologizing sincerely.
It’s about forgiveness for the sake of forgiveness,
Regardless of your personal feelings.
Courage is about bravery.
Not being brave in the course of a line of military duty,
Or trying some gross concoction on a dare,
Or even jumping into a pool of frozen water to raise awareness for a disease.
It’s about driving home to your significant other
And knowing full well that when you get home,
You will have a fight.
It’s about handing your abusive parent
Your failing report card.
It’s about witnessing bigotry or abuse
And speaking out against it.
It’s about looking in the mirror each morning
And not cringing.
Courage is about perseverance.
Not the kind that helps you get good grades,
Or a good job,
Or even some long sought after accomplishment.
It can show itself when you lower the blade
That would have served to make
An end or weary continuance.
It’s having enough self respect
To be content with who you really are,
And ensure that those labels you receive from others:
Gay, straight, fat, skinny, weird, gross,
Become life achievements you accept with pride.
It’s staring into the face of improbability
And laughing.
Courage comes in many forms:
Standing up for others, or especially
Standing up for yourself.
Being a good enough role model
To know that your habits are unhealthy
And children may be watching
And learning from them.
Ignoring bad behavior
And encouraging good deeds.
People think they show courage
When they stand at the base of mount Everest
And put their first foot forward in the ascent.
But those feet walked to that foreboding mount
Willingly, knowingly,
And so similarly climbed it.
Courage is climbing halfway up
And knowing your mortality
And coming back the way you came:
Courage is admitting defeat.
Above all, courage is about being aware.
That awareness can come from the world around you.
In acknowledging that experiencing mercy
Has become synonymous
With experiencing luck.
That accidents and crimes
Bring about the same severity
Of consequences and sentencing.
That every minute thousands of people
Die from being less fortunate than you.
That every soap box
Will be kicked out from beneath you
If what you have to say
Is offensive to the majority
Or to the right minority.
That “progress” and “technological advancement”
Are not, and never will be, the same thing.
That bigotry and inequality of any and all forms
Are forcing our feet to point backward.
That taking the life of anything that lives
Is in no way shape or form justifiable.
That order is now a
Substitution for justice.
That a world revolving around money
Refuses to allow the poor
To find shelter within
It’s gravitational pull.
That our holy texts were written by
Imperfect and mortal hands.
That we the people
Gave our power
To them, the monsters.
That honesty and kindness
Have become more shocking than murder.
That awareness can also come from within yourself.
Such as being aware of the difference between right and wrong,
Between moral and immoral.
Or being aware of your own limitations
And imperfections.
It’s embracing every embarrassing and
Destructive past
And moving forward.
It’s about knowing you do not always
Have control over your own life,
Or knowing that there are and always will be
Things you are not meant to know.
It’s about looking deep inside
And acknowledging your own flaws,
Your own faults,
And embracing them,
Or making a plan to fix them,
And knowing the difference between
Cellulite and flaws,
And mistakes and faults.
This is a message to all
The soldiers,
The priests,
The teachers,
The students,
The obese,
The homosexuals,
The bigots,
The rich,
The poor,
The destitute,
The wielders of Triforces
And members of the house of Gryffindor.
To all people with skin
And all people with no skin.
Look in the mirror.
Look all around you.
Be courageous.
Be brave.
Sacrifice.
Persevere.
And above all,
Be aware.
Or this world we all live in
Will be lost in the chaos
Of our own cowardice.
(2014)
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