One of my biggest regrets came on Christmas Day 2010. I drove to my friends house to give her some crepes that I had made for my family, and in return, she handed me a box of cookies. As I drove home, I passed this corner where a lot of homeless people stand asking for food or money. I had the box of cookies in the passenger seat right next to me, and the homeless person was out in the cold, only a couple of feet away from me. While at the red light, I deliberated with myself whether or not I should give him the cookies. It was Christmas, I sure didn't need cookies, and he looked like he could've used some food. It was the perfect moment to do a random act of kindness. Alas, the light turned green, and I left, cookies still in my car. That moment has made me guilty ever since.
Now, in most situations, whenever there is some man or woman on the street with a sign asking for help, I tend to ignore them. Just about everybody does. I hardly ever see people actually give a dollar bill or a sandwich to those poor people. However, one day, I drove past nearly that identical spot, and as usual, I saw a homeless women there. What made this situation unique was that I saw a hand stick out from a car in the inner lane, with money in hand. The homeless women went over to that car and took the money. Almost immediately, I saw another car do the same thing, and another, and another! Whereas usually I see no one lend a hand and give some money, on that day, I saw four different people aid that poor women.
I think, deep down, we all want to contribute to those we see in need. The reason we don't is not because we're bad, but because we're scared. No one wants to stand out by opening their window and handing money to a stranger, but once we see someone else do it, we're not scared anymore, and do what we want to.
Back in my freshman year, my World History teacher had this thing called the "courage card." It wasn't really a thing, but more of an idea that we need to brave. He meant taking the initiative, trying new things, and telling the truth. What's funny is that the next year, I read in the school newspaper him mentioning the courage card and the example he gave was to try out for a sports team. I took his words, and I tried out for the basketball team, only to fail epically. Either way, though, I was proud of myself for being brave and trying something that I hadn't before.
I wasn't to big of his concept of the "courage card" at first, because I felt things like trying something new wasn't significant, and wasn't true courage. As I've grown older, and as I've seen examples like the one I mentioned above, I've realized how important courage in doing the little things really is. When I say we need courage, I don't mean one needs to get over their fear of spiders, or take risks in life. What I do mean is that we need to be able to carry out what we feel or think. We need to have the courage that is required in everyday life to do good, or to be different, or say what we feel. It's also courage that allows us to tell the truth.
Courage in everyday life is an incredibly overlooked value. It's important for the sake of being able to execute what we believe, and at the say time, influence others. Being brave is a contagious thing, and when we're all brave, we all benefit.
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