COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR BUT THE MASTERY OF IT

(These thoughts are added to three times each week)

It takes courage to live yet I must admit there have been times when I was not so much courageous as foolishly pushing the envelope. And finally, when I crashed a hang glider, I knew I had shoved my luck too far. Yet, bad as that was, being a captive of fear all my life would have been even worse. It is what I have tried to teach my children.

It has been almost 38 years, but I still remember, and so does my youngest daughter. We were in Roanoke, Virginia standing by what the time was advertised as the world’s largest roller coaster. Roller coaster and I have always been the best of friends. I wanted to promote this friendship in all my children, but my daughter did not share my enthusiasm. “I’m scared, daddy.” My response, “Darling, you do not have to go on the roller coaster. The world will not come to an end. The sky won’t split in two if you do not speed up and then fly down, but…” and she knew what was coming, “If you do not go on that ride today because you are afraid, what won’t you do tomorrow because you are afraid? And the day after that until your whole life is governed by fear?”

She got the point, climbed in and found it such great fun that the next time around she was seated all by herself in the front row. The attitude there engendered has opened many new horizons. She courageously defends her faith. Doesn’t give in to her phobias (we all have them). Looks fear in the face and says, “I may lose against this particular fear, but it will know it has been in a fight.”

Anyone who says they have never been afraid is either a liar or a fool. Courage is not the absence of fear but the master of it. It is one of major lessons a child can, and should, learn. And a lesson that is never too late to learn…even in an adult.

(Imagine Charles Wesley, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther % Ben Franklin come back to life in our time. Click on the link at the top right of this blog and see these original films written, directed and acted by Neil who has been called "the new Hal Holbrook." (On your computer, no charge, enjoy)