In the movie Ladder 49, a man named Jack is assigned on a search and rescue team to a warehouse which is on fire. Jack, together with his team save a man trapped on the twelfth floor by lowering him with a rope through the window.
Jack himself does not escape, he gets trapped and dies in the building.
There is something that Kennedy, the chief of the squad, says at Jack’s funeral that resonates well with me;
“People are always asking me why is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everybody else is running out? Well Jack you have answered that question by saving another man’s life. Your courage is the answer.”
Chief Kennedy finds Jack’s life a definition of courage; and being courageous as defined by Jack’s life is walking into a fire to save another man when everyone else is walking out.
Chief Kennedy points out what is beautiful about a human soul; the ability to demonstrate courage.
I thought to ask you this question as the year 2016 draws to a close (yes less than 2 months to go);
Who is that person you met this year who walked into places when everyone was walking out and answered to life with courage?
I ask this question because we often forget firefighters in our lives, we forget the difference they made in our lives.
May be that person who answered life with courage is you.
May be you were a firefighter to those trapped in fires, you have gone into the burning houses and saved someone.
I want you to know I celebrate you because your acts of courage fuel us and inspire us to be just as courageous.
Your acts of courage tell us it can be done.
Like Kennedy I have been blessed this year to witness people answer to life with courage
Here are 10 things I have witnessed first hand
1.Beautiful friendships
I have been in the presence of friends,
I have seen people take up punches for their friends, supporting the dreams of their friends, walking into their friends’ fire when everyone else walked away.
2. Helping hands
I have witnessed people walking into a child’s life to become a tutor.
Organisations like UNICEF set up a 50 minutes for children campaign, thousands of people came forward for greater good and invested kindness into lives of children.
3. Talks
I have witnessed people showing up and talking to people when inside they were just as afraid as the rest of us.
4.Beautiful stories
I have witnessed people share their stories boldly and with authenticity
5. People becoming something for others
I have witnessed people walking into lives of children who do not know what fatherhood is supposed to and being that much needed father and people mentoring others.
6. Celebrations
I have witnessed people celebrating themselves and celebrating others in public platforms.
I think its beautiful because celebration of heroism inspires us.
7. People fighting for what is right.
I have witnessed groups for the rights of others, together standing against the evil that is done to the little man, the one who cant help himself.
8. Strength
I have witnessed people carrying on with their lives even though there was too much pain in their hearts and even though life has given them more than a fair share of problems.
9. People trying again
I have witnessed people erring greatly and willing to rise again and run again and again.
I have spoken to people who have the power to stay at it.
10. People taking up new ventures
I have witness people taking up new ventures, pursuing a forgotten dreams, saying yes to life, writing books and blogs.
I know they may have fought the little and big internal voices that said “what if you fail?”
Yet they put out themselves out there.
I also know they had fears but still they answered to life with courage.
Lets go answer life with courage
I witnessed people answer to life with courage, some I met in person, some I read about.
All these things and more are what courage is and I am glad to have understood courage as defined by these life events.
The world becomes more beautiful when we each demonstrate our courage when we start something, when we win, when we fail, when we fight for our children and when we exercise faith.
My encouragement to you is that you go answer life with courage,you go walk into fire when the rest of the people are walking out.