I gave a service on “everyday courage” and I don’t think that we could see a better example of this than in the 1000s of acts of everyday courage that we see around us in the pandemic. I think most of us don’t think of ourselves as courageous. We reserve the term “courageous” for heroes who risk their lives for someone else, for people who put themselves in grave danger to stand up for an important cause. We praise the courage of our first responders, health care workers, workers in essential jobs, teachers, etc. all the time, and I’m as grateful as anyone else for the courage and dedication of these people to their jobs that allow the rest of us to continue to live our lives.

In reality, though, some of our everyday challenges require all the courage we have ever thought we could possess. I never thought of myself as particularly courageous, but after I was in a very bad car accident, someone said to me that she was surprised that I always seemed in a good mood when she visited me in the hospital. I replied “it’s either that or sit here crying all day, and I choose to laugh”- when you think about that, that’s a pretty courageous attitude!

You should all feel proud of your ability to hang in there, to have the courage to be, to acknowledge your fear, and get through whatever life has thrown your way.