Courage is one of the virtues of heroism, of people like knights of the round table or the courageous Spartans at Thermopylae or even members of our own families giving their all for their country. We hold up these heroes as models of courage. Some say one’s courage appears only in moments of mortal peril like when someone is rescued from a burning building, the ocean’s riptide, or a car wreck.

Courage naturally appears in the thick of mortal danger. We do not know if we have heart until we are tested. How can we know we are courageous when we have not had the opportunity to save someone from a fire, from drowning, or from a battle? Courage is either there in those moments or it is not. We might then call courage the virtue of brave soldiers and knights. Though this is certainly true, it is not the full truth.

There are places and times to witness courage other than on the battlefield. The challenges we all face are rarely mythical in proportion. The monsters we confront are not giants and dragons, but rather the trials of daily life like forgiving our children when they wrong us, standing up to a bully, and saying we are sorry. There is courage in fighting daily our personal demons and when we stand up for what is right when no one else will.

Of course, we all pray we never need to test our courage in the face of death or destruction. But courage is more likely to arise in great moments when we develop it by constant practice in little, everyday moments. For instance, when we have to confront a child about their bad habits or when we lose our job or when we struggle to conceive. As parents, we are faced daily with situations that require us to quietly be courageous. As the great bard, Anonymous, said, “Courage is the quietest of virtues; heroism nearly silent.”

We can look to literature for those quiet heroes, like the courage of Jane Eyre who would suffer rather to do wrong by marrying Mr. Rochester. We can see the bravery of Jo March in Little Women who stands firm to her convictions, even if it means giving up a more comfortable life. And of course, there is Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, who defends someone no one else will. And in a lifetime, we will find innumerable quiet heroes who make small, but most important stands of bravery. You don’t need a red badge of courage to be brave.

Written by The Good & True Staff

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