What defines courage?

Courage seems to be a misinterpreted emotion. I've often wondered, what defines courage? Is it an action? Or a personality trait?  Is courage a fancy word for unreachable goals? Or is it a quiet inner strength, rarely tapped to its full potential.

Courage is not defined by large acts of heroism but, instead, little acts that make up our day to day life. Seemingly contradictory, "fear" and "courage" actually strengthen each other. Courage isn't defined by the absence of fear but rather how we face fear.  Over the past four years since Syd's diagnosis I've felt, on more than one occasion, that I'm failing her.  We have had high blood sugars and low blood sugars. My many miscalculations of carbs and insulin have caused Sydney's body pain and damage.  We all have times when we feel we are failing someone...often because of things that are outside of our complete control.  Does that make us weak or lacking courage? No. Every morning we continue to wake up and face our day, whether we feel ready or not. I, like many of my readers, inadequately face my child's potentially fatal disease day in and day out. I don't lack courage because I lack perfection. In actuality, my imperfections give me the opportunity to show my courage.

As long as we rise each time we stumble then we are "courage" and "fear's" best advocates. In order for us to become better, stronger people, we must walk outside our comfort zone. How can we know our true strength and abilities without being pushed to our limits? We can't. This past year has been an exceptionally rough one for our family. We have "failed" time and time again. We have been pushed to what seems like our limit. Our weaknesses and imperfections have never felt as raw and visible. I've asked myself, "Where is my courage and my inner strength to help get me through another day?" I often feel it's been depleted. If we judge ourselves on large acts of of heroism then, when we hit these invisible barriers, it's easy to feel weak and down trodden.

I'm sure you have asked yourself these same questions. As a society we view courage and fear as contradictory feelings instead of parallel emotions that support each other.  As parents of these little diabetic kids, it becomes easy to emotionally beat ourselves up. We carry the burden of their futures. Their health. Their longevity. The tiniest errors on our part seem to beat us over the head with bright, flashing marquees, detailing our inadequacy as a pseudo-pancreas. That, my friends, is a scary feeling. However, if we view our situation from different angles then we will see how fear can strengthen courage and help us become better and stronger advocates.

So, I dare you to face your fears head on. I dare you to let fear help sustain courage and I dare you to teach that simple, misinterpreted truth to your kids. Don't cower in the corner afraid of failing because, at times, we will fail. I think, more than anything, we fear consequences rather than actions. Don't fall victim to that mindset.  Although failing is part of life, we still can choose to rise above those trepidations. Don't let fear define you. Let fear strengthen you.  Like I said earlier, courage is not defined by the absence of fear but rather how we approach and rise above it.  "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"