Courage, Heroes and Heart

We all know what a hero is, or do we? We all know what courage is, or do we? We all know what it means to have heart, or do we?


It is easy to see the courage heroism and heart displayed by our combat troops, police and firemen.

It’s a little harder to see the courage and heroism of the single mother struggling to support her family without any help from the children’s father. She will do the best she can for them. Her heart will let her do no less.

There’s the courage to scale the tallest mountains in spite of the dangers. Why? Because it’s there! These are people we admire; heroes. But they will tell you they are not heroes, they just had to do it. When they got to the top, their hearts sang with their accomplishment.

We see the courageous terminal patients who fight for every breath of life they can get. We honor them as heroes. But do we see the courage and heroism of the family of those same patients as they struggle to support them to the end? Do we see the courage it takes for them to move on after the battle is lost? Probably not so much. But they are equally heroic. They may think that their heart will break, but somehow they find the courage to continue on with their lives afterwards.

We all know more examples in a similar vein. But these are not the courageous heroes that I want to acknowledge here.

I want to write about the breadwinner who has been out of work for weeks, months or longer, who is wondering where he will get the money to feed, shelter and clothe his family if a job doesn’t come along real soon. This person gets up every day and works the phone, networking with every contact possible and when he runs out of those he scours the papers and job boards to land that job. Still no luck. [I have used the male pronoun in this article, but these situations are not gender specific.] He might like to give up, but something won’t let him. He has so much love for his family, too much heart to give up and that heart has given him purpose. So he keeps plugging. Eventually he gets that job. It might not have him making the same money that he was making before, but he has a job. He can take care of himself and his family. He has purpose once again.

But maybe he doesn’t get a job. Then what does he do? He takes stock of himself. He assesses what skills he does have, what skills he can acquire without too much time or money and looks for something else to do. Maybe it is a job he would have never considered but for his present circumstances. Maybe he is very fortunate and his skills apply to another career that he will find more satisfying; more rewarding. Now, even though he keeps his eye out for the job he originally wanted, he widens his search and eventually finds something outside of his original career field. Hopefully it’s better. Maybe it’s not. But he is once again, able to take care of his family, so he throws his heart into the new job, new career, with enthusiasm and courage. Maybe he finds that this new job gives him more satisfaction, inner peace than that old job. Maybe losing that old job has turned out to be a blessing.

There are people who are no longer able to work. Maybe they are no longer able to take care of themselves. People who dependent on others to take care of them. They probably don’t like their circumstances, but they make peace with it. They continue because life is still sweet; still to be enjoyed. They accept, in their heart that others will be helping them, maybe for the rest of their lives. But their tragedy gives other people purpose and work. So they learn to accept the help graciously and learn to experience life from a different perspective. They embrace whole heartedly what they can do and learn to let go of what is no longer possible. How courageous! How heroic!

I have had a song playing in my head for a couple of weeks now. It is an old standard called “My Foolish Hear”. The song really has nothing to do with this post, except that it has been replaced by another song, one from the musical Damn Yankees called “You Gotta Have Heart” and that song has everything to do with this blog. Look it up. I hope it provides a little inspiration to you. It has to me.

We are all courageous in our own way. If we give of our skills, our passions and our love we are deserving of the title hero. Perhaps you know of someone deserving of this title. Someone who gives quietly and without reservation or thought of reward, passing on whole heartedly to their families and community what is in their heart to give. If so, write to me about them. Share it in this blog or write to my email address. I’d love to hear their story.