A human quality that always impresses and inspires me is courage.
The Oxford dictionary defines courage as the ability to disregard fear, to be brave and act on one’s beliefs.
I love to read and hear stories about how people stood up for what they believed in despite significant opposition or when faced with adversity persevered and accomplished something outstanding against all the odds.
Last week saw the 60th anniversary of a very brave act by a lady called Rosa Parks from Montgomery, Alabama, USA. Her courage led to improved human rights for black people in America.
It is hard to believe that 60 years ago there were segregation laws in place in the USA. One consequence of the law was that black Americans had to vacate their seats on buses if there were white passengers left standing.
Rosa Parks was tired after a day’s work. She was employed as a seamstress, doing repairs on men’s clothing at a department store called Montgomery Fair. She was suffering from aches and pains in her shoulders, back and neck.
Therefore, on that day (December 1st 1955) she made a stand and refused to give up her seat to a white person. She was arrested for violating segregation laws and at a subsequent court appearance was fined $10. This was not the first time she had acted in this way, as she had refused to give up her seat in 1943.
Mrs Parks was also a youth leader of the local branch NAACP who worked for the advancement of rights for black people. Along with her husband Raymond, she worked for many years to improve the lot of black Americans in the southern United States where rigid segregation laws had been in force since the end of the Civil War in 1865.
In protest at the fine levied on Mrs Parks, nearly all Montgomery’s 40,000 black citizens took part in the bus boycott, which lasted for 381 days. Martin Luther King had been one of those that had addressed a crowd at Holt Street Baptist Church in support of the boycott.
The NAACP decided to use her case as a test against city and state segregation laws. Eventually the US Supreme court upheld the decision of a lower court to end segregation on Alabama’s buses. It all started with Rosa Parks being courageous and seeking to initiate change.
Courage tends to be contagious. When someone stands up for what they believe to be right, it encourages and inspires others to find some strength.
We all need to find courage sometimes. Maybe it is to overcome a fear that we have, to try a new approach to an old challenge, to step outside our comfort zone or take up a new hobby.
When we want to develop a new skill or overcome a habit that is inhibiting our growth and fulfilment of our potential it requires us to step into the unknown and be courageous. In order for us to speak our truth, to confront unacceptable behaviour or to ask for what we want, it requires some degree of courage on our part.
Many years ago, I was fortunate to see a very talented singer called Jana Stanfield perform a song at a personal development event that I was attending. Jana has a wonderful voice and I vividly remember the power of the lyrics of the song. The lyrics seem to fit perfectly with the essence of this week’s blog.
I remember thinking at the time what a powerful opening line the song has. It is “What would I do if I knew that I could not fail?” One of the other lines from the song is “What step would I take today if I were brave?”
This week why not take a few moments to reflect upon this question, “What step would I take today if I were brave?”
This week’s quotation:
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” Maya Angelou.
To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk