Courage / ˈkʌrɪdʒ / "the ability to do something that frightens one"
Finally, I watched Moana. It's worth seeing, especially as you can learn some pretty important lessons:
1. Always go exploring, even if you don't feel qualified.
2. Be confident, stand up to cocky people, and share your wisdom.
3. Always, always, listen to your gran.
There are quite a few classic Disney themes in there, but courage comes up as one of the most obvious - Moana, the hero who isn't just the daughter of a chief; one who is courageous enough to find a calling all of her own. And, in most of the reviews, Moana is praised for being about an individual female who doesn't need to fall in love because she's too busy being courageous instead. Of course, it's not a perfect representation of a female hero, but it's a pretty good start (and the soundtrack is pretty great, too).
Yet this word, courage, is one that we've neglected recently. It's so quickly assigned to those who are noteworthy or newsworthy or famous, but rarely one we hear in daily conversation. But even if we don't use it to describe ourselves, courage is something that all of us are capable of; a word we can apply to our lives too.
2016 has been a relentless year, emotionally. So many times I've sat down without words to pray, or taken a pause from work to get some air, frustrated and uncertain about the state of the world. Situations and crises have unravelled that have altered my mood for days. In this brokenness, I've stopped, and not felt particularly brave or courageous at all.
In the midst of a seemingly unfixable world, with films like Moana as our only contrast, we can feel like we're not achieving anything. We can feel like we're not fighting back. We can feel useless, not courageous in the face of the danger and trial that we see all over our globe.
One of my favourite lines in all of fiction is from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, bang in the middle of The Chronicles of Narnia. The context is that Lucy feels worried, afraid of what's happening next (on a boat in the middle of the sea) and not sure where to go. The whisper she receives from Aslan - three simple words:
"Courage, dear heart..."
1. Always go exploring, even if you don't feel qualified.
2. Be confident, stand up to cocky people, and share your wisdom.
3. Always, always, listen to your gran.
There are quite a few classic Disney themes in there, but courage comes up as one of the most obvious - Moana, the hero who isn't just the daughter of a chief; one who is courageous enough to find a calling all of her own. And, in most of the reviews, Moana is praised for being about an individual female who doesn't need to fall in love because she's too busy being courageous instead. Of course, it's not a perfect representation of a female hero, but it's a pretty good start (and the soundtrack is pretty great, too).
Yet this word, courage, is one that we've neglected recently. It's so quickly assigned to those who are noteworthy or newsworthy or famous, but rarely one we hear in daily conversation. But even if we don't use it to describe ourselves, courage is something that all of us are capable of; a word we can apply to our lives too.
2016 has been a relentless year, emotionally. So many times I've sat down without words to pray, or taken a pause from work to get some air, frustrated and uncertain about the state of the world. Situations and crises have unravelled that have altered my mood for days. In this brokenness, I've stopped, and not felt particularly brave or courageous at all.
In the midst of a seemingly unfixable world, with films like Moana as our only contrast, we can feel like we're not achieving anything. We can feel like we're not fighting back. We can feel useless, not courageous in the face of the danger and trial that we see all over our globe.
One of my favourite lines in all of fiction is from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, bang in the middle of The Chronicles of Narnia. The context is that Lucy feels worried, afraid of what's happening next (on a boat in the middle of the sea) and not sure where to go. The whisper she receives from Aslan - three simple words:
"Courage, dear heart..."
Even now, these words stop me in my tracks when I read or think about them. Not just because they're from one of my favourite books, but because they apply to me, too. They remind me that courage isn't just for the superheroes or characters in Disney movies. Courage is for now. For the world that we live in, for the things that we face daily.
If 2016 has taught us anything, it's that things are challenging and that life is difficult. We will be affected by the stark, difficult realities of the world - not just in our heads, but our hearts, too.
But in the face of such darkness we must have courage: we must keep going.
Courage: "strength in the face of pain or grief."
But in the face of such darkness we must have courage: we must keep going.
Courage: "strength in the face of pain or grief."
The word courage applies to so many more people than fiction. I think of my friend Linda who is courageously and endlessly providing for refugees in Greece; or my friend Nikki who is courageously attempting to end food waste in the North of England; I think of people who face difficulties in their families; whose relatives are dying; those struggling to make ends meet; those travelling to find a safe place to live; those caught in war; those who are starving and struggling for food; people who, daily are fighting against those things that frighten them with their whole hearts.
I'm remembering this year, like most people, as one which really shook things up. A challenging year - one where we all lost a little hope. Yet in the midst of such time, I'm so inspired by ordinary people of courage. We humans are still fighting; courageously at times; for a better world. That's something we can keep doing. That's a pretty great accolade in the middle of the brokenness. Something we can be proud of.
2016, you've been tough. But we've got courage. We're keeping going.
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