CAN WE TEACH COURAGE?

Published by

neil

Yes and No. How is that for a definite maybe?

Who we are and everything we do is the method of instruction. As you well know young people see what we do so much more than hear what we say.

A couple of years back I was helping my son and his fiance clear some trees along their long driveway to allow sun to naturally dry the road at a climbing bend that was hard to navigate. One of the offending Poplar trees was about 60′ tall and I needed it to fall in a direction that defied gravity. Before I started cutting I looked up and my audience was my then 11, 10 and 8 year old Grandkids. I had them stay at a safe distance and to my surprise they shot a video of this challenge. After some nail biting chainsaw noise the tree fell parallel to the road as it needed to. The event is an awe inspiring whoosh and loud thump as the tree hits the ground.

Fallen tree trunk resting on a stump in the woods, representing resilience, change, and grandparenting strength

Quote graphic featuring Aristotle saying courage is essential, representing wisdom, resilience, and grandparenting inspiration

My response was a fist pump and a primal YEAH! when it hit the ground. The kids cheered and applauded.

After they came to see my handy work my Grandson asked if I wasn’t worried about the danger and challenge of getting it to fall where I wanted. My answer was that I was scared half out of my mind. TEACHING MOMENT.

Every time they shared that video was a reinforcement of that teaching. So Yes we can teach courage but what they witnessed was far more effective than telling them to have courage.

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. “ - Aristotle