The moral courage to live.

The courage to live. The courage to thrive. The courage to stand up for what is right. That is moral courage to me. 

I need such reminder to keep me anchored on what is unshakeable. It is a reminder to affirm my humanity, because what is at stake is this, what am I living for?

I know life is made up of many crossroads. Each one of them is unique to me, unique to my life’s stages and the circumstances I have to confront. 

No two crossroads are alike. I delude myself to underestimate one just because I have overcome the one before. That’s hubris, and courage is rooted in the humility of my humanity, not having any delusion about it. 

I need courage most when I think I need it the least. The courage to live is a given, but I tend to forget that not all the time do I think life is worth living. 

And those moments where life and death struggle for existential space, the gap is bridged by courage. It is the courage found in perspective that is not a given. And I should never take that for granted. 

Then, there is the courage to thrive, to go beyond living to meaning, to go beyond existing to impacting, and to go beyond hoping to planting, sowing and reaping. 

There is however a sinister pathway for the courageous on this route. Many lose their way not for the lack of courage, but for the abuses of it. 

They mistake blind ambition for courage. They mistake short term gains at the expense of long term consequences for courage. And they mistake the use of power for personal convenience for courage. They thus make excuses for being bold just so as to avoid the cost of being honest. 

Alas, to be guided by courage is to surrender to it when it matters most. And this leads me to the courage to do what is right.  That is another crossroad that comes in spades. 

It may just be a decision away, but that distance can only be covered by courage. That is, by a courage that is prepared to stand alone. By a courage that is prepared to sacrifice pleasure and fame. And by a courage that is prepared to admit one is wrong and make amends, whatever the price.

I have therefore learned that to live for a lasting legacy is to live with courage, moral courage. And even if I should fall, even if I should side with cowardice, I can still make things right by changing course with courage as my journey’s companion. 

For we know a life is not too long we should take for granted, and not too short we should take for a ride. To each is a sacred responsibility, and to our loved ones, we must strive to pass down a legacy driven by a life of courage. 

That is what makes courage so acessible to my soul, because courage is not the fabled strength as that of Samson. But it is that seed to be cultivated faithfully, and demonstrated most boldly when David confronted Goliath, and when I confront mine.