© irene waters 2014
“You’ve got more courage than I’ve got.” All my friends were saying this or similar when they heard of my husband’s and my plan to pack up our house, throw in our careers and go into partnership with the paramount chief on the remote island of Tanna in Vanuatu.
It wasn’t bravery that I could see. The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. I wasn’t frightened by the prospect. If anything I was enervated, filled with anticipation of the new life that we would have as newlyweds on a romantic tropical island removed from the pressures of the modern world in which we lived. We would be leaving a lot behind – electricity and all the mod-cons that went with that, shops and consumerism, on tap water and sewer systems and our friends and family. We were young though and those close to us would visit and I would make new friends as I washed my clothes in the sea beside the local women but I could see nothing to fear in the doing so. Perhaps I had doubts about our ability to build a house for us to live in and save a failing business but I certainly wasn’t frightened by the prospect.
When does an act become courage? Is courage instinctive and thereby not really courage? People running into burning buildings to get people out I would say is a courageous act. But do you act from instinct? Perhaps some do and others knowing the risk to themselves still enter. The latter takes courage.
Being truthful and speaking out when you are fully aware of the disapproval and dangers of doing this requires courage. For some, including myself, just to speak in public takes courage. To overcome that deep-seated fear of standing in front of an audience with all eyes and ears tuned in to yourself takes a lot of effort and nerve and a lot of practice. For an agoraphobic to step outside the door takes courage. Even the act of dying or facing grief can be done with courage.
There are so many simple little things in life that take courage, but for me moving to Tanna was not one them. Perhaps my friends could see into the future and knew that I would need courage but if I could also predict the future still making the move would not have been courageous, just plain stupid.
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
You’re so right Irene…our posts are indeed similar. Agree with all you have to say. I had the public speaking fear too and have spoken about it on my blog before. Took a lot of courage to get past that. Love your blog and looking forward to reading more… 🙂
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Yes I was surprised. Glad to have met you and will see more of you for sure.
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Courage takes us through one stage of life to another– thank you for sharing your memories with us.
Damyanti
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2014, Latest Post
Twitter: @damyantig
#atozchallenge
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You’re welcome
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I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it said better.
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Thanks David. Greatly appreciate your comment. Cheers Irene
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Hands up all those who HAVEN’T made some kind of move that’s best described as ‘plain stupid’ ? Yeah, I thought so …
Nice piece, Irene !
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Thanks M-R. I’m sure we’ve all done. Cheers Irene
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Yes, courage is sometimes over-rated. I agree that to overcome a fear, it takes courage but when you are going with the flow, it is just a split second decision. Brilliant piece!
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Thank you very much for your thoughts. Cheers Irene
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A great post Irene. Many people live best in their daily circles. When they need to move away to something unknown, it could be dangerous. That is one way to look at it. Another like you did, without fear for all the new in your life.
We are all different and many people live the same place in the same area all their life and have a good life. Maybe they don’t challenge themselves so much, but they feel best in this way.
Others like us we love to challenge ourselves and try a lot of new things.
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You are right Irene. The people that said I was courageous by taking the move were probably people that would have been courageous had they themselves done so. We are all so different and I’m very thankful that we are – it’d be very boring otherwise.
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I agree and i I’m grateful that we are able to do with our lives, as we wish to, a long way.
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Irene, I not only liked what you said, but how you said it. A nice piece of writing!
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Thanks Bob. I take that as high praise and much appreciated. Cheers Irene
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I had to find Tanna on a map. You are a ways from the mainland of Australia.
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Yes quite away. It is about 3,620 kilometres from Australia but many, many miles different. Cheers Irene
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Courage does not always equal smart, does it? Courage and bravery are topics near and dear to my heart, was so happy to see your post.
AND … your photo … had chickens! Had a good smile over that, as I asked my little dog Spot to send me a sign from time to time, maybe of chickens, and so far I’ve had daily chickens from her.
Hope you are having a lovely day,
Love, Christy
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Hi Christy, Glad I connected with you. Courage certainly doesn’t always mean smart. Wish I could say the chickens were on purpose because I love the irony of them. Have a great day. Cheers Irene
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The fact they were not on purpose is what makes it so wonderful!
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It is courage to live life knowing the consequences that may come from a decision and still following your dreams or supporting the one you love. I really enjoyed this post. Jenni
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Thanks Jenni. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Irene
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Another wonderfully written post, you are doing a marvellous job with this challenge Irene. I love reading all your stories. You hit the nail on the head about taking these steps when we are young. What might seem like courage to others at the time seems more like an adventure to us, no matter what the outcome 😉
Ready for another walk? xx
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Boy am I ready for another walk. At the moment I feel like I need courage just to wake up each morning. I have to take the advice I gave you the other day and listen to the loudest voice and put the others in the cupboard for awhile. Glad you are enjoying these challenge posts. I’m finding the place that each emotion takes me is interesting for me anyway. I’ll visit soon for a walk to where you take me. Looking forward to getting lost in your memories. Cheers irene
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Come over here and we’ll go for that walk and talk about which voices needs to be quietened down and wait for the one that is the loudest and which needs to be answered. Then maybe you will have some peace again and feel that you can face each day with strength and the courage that I know darn well defines you my friend. But I understand, oh so well…it’s not easy. You are doing a marvellous job but I know it takes its toll. Big hug here for you… 🙂 x
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Needed that hug today Sherri. Thanks 🙂
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Here’s another one….. with a smile…… 🙂
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🙂
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