VALOUR means, “Great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle”. In the present battle against Covid 19, many health workers are working on the forefront at great risk to their lives. And they are showing great courage in this fight. Apart from them, there are many others who are continuing to work…sanitation workers, police forces, bankers, chemists….even fruit and vegetable vendors…..all these people are aware of their chances of getting the infection, but are nevertheless carrying on valiantly. But I feel that the battle is not limited to those working on the forefront. Each one of us is fighting this battle, whether we are sitting at home, or staying alone away from the family, or stranded in a strange country ……every single person is fighting this battle in his or her own way. And every- one is trying his / her best to be courageous in the face of the negative news coming in all the time!
Here, I would like to revisit the word Courage. As Nelson Mandela has said, ” I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”…..I would like to talk a little more about courage in our daily lives…..
As a child specialist, I have been vaccinating children for more than 30 years now. Once the child is more than 8-9 months, he starts associating the clinic with a painful experience and starts crying even before entering the clinic. And I have seen many different kinds of reactions of children and their parents during the vaccination, especially with the 2-3 year olds. Some parents scold their child (this happens more often with the father-son situation), ” Why are you crying like a baby? Be brave!” The child is not even able to express himself in words and he is expected to be brave in the face of pain!
Some parents tell their child, “It’s nothing, it won’t pain at all. Don’t worry” Though these parents mean well, I am sure the child must be feeling cheated when he does experience pain.
The best parents are the ones who tell their child, “It is going to pain , but we have to do it so that you don’t fall sick. Let me hold your hands…it will get over in a minute ” These are the children who are scared, but feel that their parents are around to help them, and so can face the situation by gritting their teeth and pursing their lips. I always feel that these children are showing great courage. ( I would like to compare this situation with adults….those who have a strong faith in God, and feel that he will take care of them come what may,….and consequently show great courage in adverse situations )
I would like to share a very personal experience of my fears and how going to the root of that fear helped me overcome that fear. After my surgery for cancer, I was scheduled to receive 6 cycles of chemotherapy. I did not experience any fear before or immediately after the surgery. But later, I found myself uneasy and anxious. I tried to go to the roots of these feelings. I asked myself if I was scared of death, but the answer was a very vehement ‘No’ (Having listened to Osho talk about death in many of his discourses, I was not really fearful of death per say). But then why was I feeling anxious? As I delved deeper into myself, I realised that my anxiety stemmed from a fear of chemotherapy (being a doctor, I knew all possible complications of chemotherapy!) When I could pinpoint my fear, it was easy to take action! We decided to put in a port to make easy the process of actually giving the chemotherapy drugs. With that my anxiety reduced considerably and I could remain positive and cheerful again.
Here let me share one more insight about our fears about future. I was initially quite scared about the number of blood collections I would have to undergo during my chemotherapy. But surprisingly, when it actually happened, I realised that it was no big deal….I could easily handle it….that’s when I realised the truth of the statement that most of the times, we worry about things that are never going to happen ( or are not as bad as you fear they would be ! )
I think each and every one of shows a lot of courage in various situations in our life…..Valour is seen not only on the battlefields, it is seen in everyday life too !!
