Gentle Courage

Justin and I had a pretty cool experience the other night. We were able to attend a fundraiser dinner for the Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton. We were not on the floor but in the seats directly across the arena from her podium. The energy in the room was infectious. It was a really neat experience. Sadly, Bill was not in attendance and I joked with a friend that I would have tinkled in my undies if he was in the room. LOL!!!! On a side note, I really liked what she had to say and agreed with a large number of points she brought up.

We had the opportunity to sit next to this lovely elderly couple and I struck up a conversation with the husband. It was like a golden moment of awesomeness. I believe his name was Tom. (I am horrible with remembering names, but always remember faces) As we began our conversation, I admitted to Tom that we had never been to any sort of rally, political or otherwise, and that this was a pretty cool experience so far. He went on to explain that he and his wife had helped campaign for both Clinton's. Tom admitted that he and his wife had been married before they were even out of high school, celebrated 62 years of marriage, had two children, a 61 year old and a 58 year old. GASP. Put everything into perspective. I began to think about exactly how old these two actually were and how much they had seen and experienced in their lives together. It was truly inspiring and a really cool moment.

One of the moments Tom began to talk about helping Bill's governor campaign. Arkansas is known for their amalgamation of beliefs and types of folks, including and correctly so, the redneck back woods folks. They are STRONG in their views and STRONG in their beliefs and that is one if the most admirable, most frustrating things I enjoy about this state, even if these views differ greatly from my own beliefs.

Tom spoke of a moment when Bill went to a small town in Arkansas to ask its residents for their votes. It seems two good ole boys tried to get Bill to take off his political suit and take some chewing tobacco with them and have a more comfortable chat. Bill stood his ground as he did not chew and wasn't planning on beginning any time soon. The boys ridiculed Bill but he stood his ground.
It was at this moment that Tom mentioned the idea of "Gentle Courage". He said that there are examples of this idea all around us. Bill exemplified the idea of gentle courage, knowing what he would and would not do to win, being strong in his own belief structure and truthfully, being comfortable in yourself  and who you are to find this inner strength. Standing up for what you truly believe is difficult, especially if you face negativity and aggression. Standing your ground as to what you will put up with is hard. It is easier to just try and go along with the flow, not ruffling any feathers, and suppress your feelings. Even when you DON'T agree.

I think we miss having this sort of inner focus until we get out of our awkward stages, the high school years, the 20's, the 30's, sometimes even into our 40's do we struggle with figuring out who we truly are. Heck, who am I kidding? There are folks well into their 60's who struggle with figuring out who they are.

I like this idea of Gentle Courage. You don't have to have an "in your face" aggressive kind of bravery. You don't have to be an "in your face" kind of personality either to get things accomplished and exemplify this gentle courage. You can find strength within yourself and must trust that you have it within you to make a difference and live the life you have imagined for yourself.

I see this idea of Gentle Courage in so many folks around us. Facing life's struggles with grace, with energy, with love.

It is beautiful. It is scary. It is inspiring.

Thank you, Tom, for your kindness, and for your thought-provoking discussion. You had me thinking and contemplating and struggling and enjoying our thoughts. Was one of those GREAT discussions that leaves you thinking for weeks after it passes...I love those moments.