courage

The Omnivore has recently been contemplating the concept of courage, and discovered the very definition is what makes it so hard to grasp why, how and when we are courageous — and what it is that makes some people ‘rise to the occasion’ while others just retreat. At best those who can’t summon the resources to be courageous can lick their wounds and return, perchance, to fight another day. At worst — there won’t be another day.

The Omnivore was mightily impressed by Viktor Frankl’s masterpiece classic ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ when she first encountered it eons ago as a freshman in Journalism school. He talked about those who had survived the concentration camps…why them? Why not others? Courage played a strong role, and, as the title suggests, it was those with meaning in their lives, with something or someone to live for, that had a better chance of making it out alive (combined with a healthy dose of luck, always).

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how”.
Friedrich Nietzsche

“To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” Lao-Tzu

Is that what it is….knowing the difference between strength and courage? Having the support and devotion of those we hold dearest….is this what makes us courageous?

It is a nightmare that we hope never to have to face personally — terminal cancer. How does one react to the news that, out of the blue…you are going to die? Sooner, rather than later. You hear the dreaded words ‘palliative care’. You see the look of disbelief and shock on the faces of your loved ones, of those you love yourself beyond words.

And you call up the courage for this last fight, because fight you must, to buy yourself some more precious time. To spend just a few more months as a mother, lover, wife, daughter, sister and friend. To have the courage to accept the unacceptable, to believe the unbelievable, to know that the impossible has just become possible.

The Omnivore salutes cancer patients everywhere, especially one remarkable woman who is fighting the last great battle of her life. To those who are on this solitary path of great courage and personal fortitude, remember, that while we  came alone into the world, and we shall leave it in the same way –in the distance between the two is a wonderful space full of love, light, laughter, joy and kindness.  Let the flowering of this support give you strength, and let your pure and unceasing love for those around you give you courage.