"Courage is Not the Absence of Fear"

  "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." -Nelson Mandela

I know so many people who are chronically ill: Through this blog and in person. It is through them that I've seen more courage than some will see in a lifetime. Most people think a child wouldn't need courage through illness and in hospitals because treatment isn't optional when your parents consent and hold you down. But it's true, especially when your disease is ongoing. Children, teenagers and adults show a lot of gumption in times of illness. Often times we develop many fears because of the uncertain nature of these illnesses. They battle this fear because living scared is no way to live at all. They face the fear of pain and scars and go through procedures because it might be better later. They face the fear of needles and side effects and take strong medication and immunosuppressants because the pros outweighs the cons. I've watched children willingly take on their fears and submit themselves to pain because they hope the outcome will work. There is courage in this world. I've seen it first hand.

     Courage is not the absence of fear, rather the triumph over it. Fearlessness is not courage: A person without fear does not need to battle to face some thing, they can simply face it without a second thought. Doing something that has nothing to fear in it doesn't seem very important. It's when there is fear or danger in doing something for good that is there courage. I can only imagine nothing would be truly of value in this world if everyone was fearless, and courage was never needed.