Courage

'Courage is love as action--love on her silver steed, forcing change in the world, rising to challenges, negotiating life with skill, and confronting others with care and wisdom. The qualities that courage draws upon--hardiness and resilience, as well as the ability to bend and alter course when faced with difficulty, to commit oneself to a cause, and to find inner power during times of pain--are all associated with mental health. We need a deep, tensile strength to face the tough times in life, to speak out persuasively against injustice, and above all, to love others wisely and well. To love at all is a risk that requires courage--we risk our safety, letting ourselves be raw and vulnerable; we accept our share of compromise and weather disappointment and despair...

Courage takes many forms. For some, it means changing the world, even risking one's life to do so. For others, it requires standing up for oneself, speaking out in your own relationships...

Courage is the hallmark of every human who has changed the world, from Jesus to Joan of Arc...

Courage comes from the Latin for "heart" (cor). Courage is also contained in the word encouragement--literally, giving heart to another...

Hardiness is the core trait of courageous individuals...hardiness is composed of the three C's of courage: commitment, control, and challenge.'

From Why Good Things Happen to Good People by Stephen Post and Jill Neimark