Joyful Courage

What’s courage? It’s not being fearless; it’s facing that which you fear. It’s coming face-to-face with whatever holds you down and working through the maze of internal turmoil to find answers within. It’s not looking for rescue or escape, but going through it; it’s a face-off with what you most fear.

I used to think that those who seemed strong were strong because they had no fear. I have a different perception now. Having lived almost six decades, I have observed many lives and experienced ups and downs on this beautiful journey.

Courage doesn’t mean one doesn’t have anxiety, worries, fears, crises, depression, despair, or breakdowns. It’s what one does with them. One can allow these things to repress or suppress one, or one can face them even though it’s the most uncomfortable, painful, and inconvenient thing to do.

Courage doesn’t mean one is wildly successful, famous, or wealthy.

I’ve seen many faces of courage.

One in my immediate family dared to go beyond his perceived physical limitations. Thinking that he was not any kind of athlete, he hunkered down and became a nerd of nerds, being class president throughout his school career. Then, in his mid-thirties, as an overweight and physically unfit physician, he decided to go for a run and never stopped, much like Forrest Gump!

Today, he’s an Ironman with 12 years of experience, and he wrote a book about his journey in Korean, published in Korea and available in bookstores. Neither his classmates nor his family ever imagined that he would be an athlete. He enjoys all the seasons. In winter, he’s an avid skier, not only on the slopes but also in the backcountry. In spring, summer, and fall, he hikes up the mountains, drinking in the beauty of mother nature. He’s also on his bike in different races, competing with himself.

He faced his fear of being an untalented athlete and decisively took recourse and took baby steps. This is my beloved husband. I believe his tenacity and his optimistic attitude aided his process of dealing with the loss of our beloved son.

He’s one of the most courageous people that I know. He chose to upgrade his attitude to the highest plane possible and continues upward in spite of a number of other personal challenges. He’s a hero that I live with, and he optimally challenges me to keep going on the road where the sun shines brightly.

There’s a saying that there are those who see life as a glass half full or a glass half empty. A glass half full is still good, but what about a glass that’s overflowing?

I think when one takes the road of courage, the glass overflows with all the good juice in life, such as joy, peace, contentment, and gratitude. I live with someone who exudes sunshine even on the seemingly bad days. He quickly turns himself around to a path lighted up with sunshine instead of one with dark clouds hanging overhead.

I feel like the luckiest person living with someone like this. He continues to teach me courage through his daily intentional decisions to grow, learn, and expand with deep gratitude for this gift of life. My guy is tender and sensitive but faces all with humble courage to keep going. He is what courage looks like to me.