It takes courage to lead a life. Any life. Erica Jong
While opportunities abound around us, we often focus our energies on the elusive, the painful and the indifference that confront us as we make vain attempts to avoid the needle pricks, the hard knocks and the unfairness that life seems to offer us. Once blinded by the negatives we tend to view things particularly the good things in life with skeptism, suspicion and wariness since we don’t want life to cheat us again. By being cautious and not too optimistic we prepare ourselves to face any eventuality that we may have to confront as we lead our daily life.
To be in sync and harmony with the realities of life we need to be bold and courageous because only then can we face eventualities and challenges with a calm mind, even temperament and a realistic candor. Material wealth is a great differentiator in real life. Those who are rich and wealthy can be bolder in life for they have an economic cushion to arrest their fall if they fall of their perch. Those who are less economically fortunate need to dig deep into their inner reserves and steel themselves with fortitude to battle life and its vagaries. Upbringing and attitude too influence the personality of those who display a stout heart and firm resolve to take on life’s challenges confidently and head-on.
It is a fallacy to assume that those who are carefree and brash have a stronger inner reserve. Often it is the pauper and the hard-pressed who fight the good fight. Others when put to the test by life, cower in fright, run away from a challenge and in extreme cases run away from life itself by resorting to suicide. The classical virtues of Intelligence, pleasant disposition and bravado are often inadequate to meet the realities of life. That is why we often say that life is fair, for it puts to the test each of us with different yardsticks but with a common objective; to make one live a worthwhile life.
Whether you are King or beggar, fat or thin, male or female, parent or child each of us has to fight a lone battle when confronted by life. Only we can, as an individual, answer the question that is posed by life. We may hesitate, act confident, feel inadequate, be foolhardy or simply behave brash and ruthless but when life whispers in our ears we need to respond with faith; faith in ourselves, faith in our inner reserves and most of all faith in the future. After all life is nothing but the future unfolding daily giving each of us new opportunities and fresh perspectives.
Remember: “Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose. Tom Krause
Try these:
- Write down 3 incidents from your life that made you feel life is very unfair. Why do you say that these incidents are unfair? What / who/ how did you get the courage to face the challenges and become successful?
- Given the following scenarios choose which of the following has been treated most unfairly by life? Can you also try to pinpoint your reasons for the choice? If inclined rank all the characters in order of their tryst with life and the most unfortunate one being ranked first and the least unfortunate one ranked last.
- A teenage in the early teens suddenly orphaned when his/ her parents die in an accident
- A very rich and straightforward businessman suddenly ousted by his business partner and left a pauper in the bargain
- A very rich and made for each other couple who are unable to have an offspring despite 2 decades of marriage
- A dashing and very popular personality suddenly left paraplegic in an air crash
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