TR EMERITUS

Son: Dad, what is courage?

Father: It’s heart talk, son.

Son: What’s that? What language does the heart speak of?

Father: It’s the common language we are all too familiar with. The heart speaks of love, joy, hope, sorrow, fear, anger, shame, guilt, forgiveness and it goes on.

Son: That’s a lot to take in dad. How do I know whether I have courage or not?

Father: Well, our heart is a symbol of who we are. We use it to describe ourselves. A good heart, a bad one or a divided heart. We are defined by it. So courage is a heart decided.

Son: Decided?

Father: Yes, son, when the heart speaks, you have a conference of conflicting sentiments. It can get quite rowdy in there. For hurt wails. Anger screams. Lust hollers. But hope lifts. Peace whispers. And love overcomes. Usually the empty vessels make the most noise. Courage is the end result of that conference, at the end of the day. And when a decision is finally made, settled.

Son: Dad, you have to break that down for me. Is there a landing here? I thought they often say that courage is not the absence of fear, it is the overcoming of it?

Father: Sure son, that’s right. But the heart is hobbled by so much more. I have lived my life long enough to know that the heart is a battlefield. And courage comes out of something. It’s the last man standing, so to speak. There are fears and uncertainties. Courage strengthens the heart against them. There are lust and greed, and courage redirects the heart to what is of lasting value. And there is pain, sorrow. Courage is the faithful companion, one who whispers, “Walk on. Keep moving forward”.

Son: Well, courage needs to fill big shoes to do all that then.

Father: Mm…our feet grow into it. Nothing is a perfect fit from the outset. It is a process of discipline of the mind and heart. As we keep walking, keep believing, we grow in size, hope and confidence. Courage is just like that. You make thousands of decisions a day. Not all of them are consequential. Few are. But, for those that matter, courage fills in the gap. It gives you that needed push, sometimes a timely nudge, to make a settled choice. You then flow with it. You keep making it in that settled direction, tweaking it as you go, until you finally arrive.

Son: Wait, so dad, courage is the battle of wills? And it is a process that refines you?

Father: Yes son. Well put. Isn’t that what’s life all about? When you are knocked down, you come right back up. When you are in the valley, keep moving towards the light. Every step is a choice made. It is a battle within. The heart is always bombarded. But, courage is what comes out of that refining process, where you emerge with clarity and hope. At times, you don’t even know where the road is taking you. You can’t see further than your physical sight can cover. But courage doesn’t call it quits just because the road ahead is a blur.

Son: So, after all said, courage encourages? (smiles)

Father: Haha, however corny, yes. Incidentally, “en” means “put into” or “cover with”. So, en-courage is to put on or be covered with courage. It is the strengthening of our heart, to speak of what leans us towards hope. It’s faith talk too. Uncertainty, like failures, are but opportunities hidden. Sometimes well-camouflaged. We need to press on even more and uncover them. God grants us u-turns so that the journey does not end with dead ends.

Son: Thanks dad. It’s a lot of heart talk here. Will digest them as I take my own faith walk in this life. Love you.

Dad: Love you too. Take heart, son. Take courage. Take care too.

Michael Han

* The author is a Director at Hoh Law Corporation and blogs on Facebook.

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