The essence of virtue

Courage

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point” CS LEWIS

Of late i have been trying to find out what really is courage ?, what is it expanse? and what all does this word encompass? Is it not one of the qualities which stands out as something which our hearts are immediately gravitated to. People who have done courageous feats like in the military are admired and respected, women dream of men who are bold and courageous.

So why is courage so important and what does it mean to have courage ?

Then i realized that courage is the backbone of every virtue. It holds strong all the bits and pieces which make up character, for without this any virtue faced with adversity would fall and your character would be one which would not stand the test of difficult times and hard days. Its important to be competent in today's world but with so much changing around us its also important to have the courage to hold onto what you believe and develop courage within to make yourself truly a person of character and one who can be relied on when stuff hits the roof. How long can the good in you hold out faced with the scum the world throws at you will depend on the courage you show to remain true to yourself.

Then i wanted an example. My mind went through all the persons of history…..Spartans at Thermopylae , Alexander the Great, Gautam Buddha, Joan of Arc, Mother Theresa…. but i realized that the IF history is true and what was taught to us in Sunday School is correct then undoubtedly the most courageous person to ever walk on earth was Jesus Christ. He held onto every one of his virtues in the most trying and difficult times all the while knowing his death was imminent and ever looming large. Hats off to him.

So step out every morning with a thought to be courageous to hold on to what you believe and know to be good and true. In the end the kind of person you become will be defined by how courageous you are.