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Courage

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Senator John McCain authored a book entitled "Why Courage Matters." The short essays pointed out the importance of bravery. You can be the wisest person in the world, but if you do not have the courage to act upon the knowledge, it will not do you or the world much good. As a former POW, John McCain knew firsthand what he was talking about. The book reveals how not every wise and brave person comes to a successful end, however, this does not in any way detract from the importance of the particular goal especially if one is fighting for social justice, take for example Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy whose lives were cut short.

Wisdom should be shared or expressed. This means that one would need courage to voice opinions publicly. Everyone has their detractors - including God. The truly wise person would understand the cost of freedom of expression and speak out anyway.

Wisdom should be acted upon. If someone knew about impending peril or could foresee trouble ahead by examining the past and interpreting the future, it would take a tremendous amount of courage to jump in where others would fear to tread especially with information about facts not yet revealed or not yet brought into evidence - all the while holding to one's viewpoint that the outcome will become apparent eventually.

Wisdom would imply a superior understanding about human nature and philosophical thought. If the wise man understood the true nature or potential of mankind's evil, it would take a great amount of courage to make friends with everyone anyway or to trust a person despite knowing that all fall short and no one is perfect. Courage means becoming close to someone knowing in advance you will most likely be disappointed or hurt or betrayed as some point in time. Even a pet gets sick and calls on us for help.

Wisdom, true wisdom, comes from outside oneself. No one can know everything with certainty, but the spiritual or highly skilled can count on outside resources for support. It will take a great deal of courage and fortitude to separate the wheat from the chaff. The wise would need to know what and who matters from all that which does not count. This can end up coming across as intimidating, ruthless or even rude to others, but what the wise person is actually doing is exercising strength in reason and logic. Being wise enough to spot a lie or trouble for example and then turning direction. It also takes courage to admit you cannot do it all or know it all by yourself. It takes courage to tell others "no," "I don't understand," or even "I have changed my mind."

Wisdom requires self-awareness and self-control. The most courageous thing a wise person can do is hold their tongue in the heat of passion or really let it fly when the occasion calls for a good rebuke. This is why we love a great courtroom orator or bone-chilling criminal investigator. It is why we allow parents and preachers to have the last word - a kind of boldness borne from brilliant backup.

I do not think it is even possible to have wisdom without courage since it takes courage to find true wisdom. You have to be prepared to go places most folks do not go or to dig inside the mind of people to find the true inner core or soul. This does not even include the years of study, practice and patience it takes, plus a courageous amount of time slowly plodding forth at great expense. Courage against all the apparent odds of making it through to the end is what will help the wise person achieve success.

Learn more about this author, Cinda Smaagaard.
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