That appears to be lacking the necessary liquid courage.
That’s a good way of looking at it.
I always thought my step father was one of the most courageous people I ever met.
He rejected the wealthy family who said that he couldn’t marry a poor woman because it was socially bad, and married her anyway.
Since he was in school at the time, he took two jobs to finish, and then joined the Marine Corps in time to get shipped to Vietnam. In Vietnam he was wounded seriously while pulling a wounded comrade to cover. After recovering, he volunteered for another tour.
When his poor wife left him for someone else he ignored his family’s snide remarks about peerage and married another “poor” girl, whi happened to be my mom. Though he had no experience with children he loved my mother enough that he found it in himself to love and care for me and my brother.
He lost his job when the company he was working for folded, so he opened a business, and lost that when the economy in Dallas had a heart attack in the 80’s. He never filed for bankruptcy, and never asked his parents for a loan, but instead worked two jobs and paid back every dime, while finding time for his kids’ soccer games, footballs games, and school events. He volunteered with the church, and never once lost his faith, no matter how hard it got.
When he was 50 he followed my mom to a new job, but found after moving that his skills weren’t in demand. He took a job that should have been temporary, but the lack of opportunity in Daytona forced him to stay in it, and it was a shitty, shitty job.
At 54 he developed pancreatic cancer, and let us know he was determined to beat it. In this he failed, but despite the fact that he was the one dying he remained our family’s rock throughout this time. He was more stable than the rest of us put together, and stronger, and more accepting. It’s odd to put it this way, but I don’t think I could have survived his death in good mental health without his help.
So I guess courage means to me that you accept the bad and work for the good and never let your faith in yourself, your family, and your hope fail.
Yes. As someone who has let fear rule him for too much of his life, I have to agree with this.
But I’d also add that courage is acting without letting your fear rule your decisions. If you let fear rule you, you become weaker and give your power to others. Which sucks. And can be damned difficult to get out of.
What a great dad. Courage to do the right thing and to follow his heart.