Four types of Courage If you ask a class of students to name a courageous person, you will be able to hear a multitude of replies of names of famous people. Have you ever considered having the guts to stand out in the crowd and naming yourself as an act of courage makes you a courageous individual? American psychologists Rollo May shares that “It is easier in our society to be naked physically than to be naked psychologically or spiritually. ” Humans are born naked.Before human civilization advanced to its current stage today, cavemen walked naked before they learnt to cover themselves with animal skin or leaves.
However, in today’s life, to make the decision to stand naked before a crowd requires you to have the courage to do so. You would have to come face to face with stage fear, embarrassment, consciousness of your own body, and stares from the crowd. When in reality you may have been exposed for a few seconds, the impact of the event on your psychological state of mind certainly lasts a lifetime.As Patrice shared in her entry concerning creative courage, she mentioned musician Mitsuhiro Mori who perfected the play of the handflute. Another noteworthy musician introduced in music module is John Cage.
His most controversial composition was 4’33’’; a three-movement composition. The score instructs the performer his or her instrument, and the essence of this piece is for the audience to listen to the sounds of the environment in that venue while the piece is being played.The courage to step forth and announce 4’33’’ is a musical piece resulted in John Cage being ostracized by his friends and disownment by his teacher Arnold Schoenberg for having the audacity of creating silence as music. The courage to continue life and even create further movements for that composition is admirable. If I were in Cage’s shoes at that point in history, I wonder if I’ll have the courage to do such a thing knowing that many may not accept it.
You may call me a coward for not having the guts, but having to live life without any friends and being disowned by your mentor I believe is a torturous process, one I definitely would not want to experience. Ultimately, before any step we make in life, we must have the courage to decide upon it and face the consequences even if it may not be favorable. I do not mean that just because we are afraid of unfavorable outcomes, we should take the safer route in life and choose not be daring in our decisions. While I believe courage should be nurtured, we should always keep a positive attitude in life and be open to changes.
