Persistence is Bravery Too

My cat’s name is Jitters. He has lived up to it. He runs out of the kitchen when my toast pops up. He hightails it under the bed if the doorbell rings. He needs safe spaces. In these stressful times of change and unpredictability, we need safe spaces, too, and strategies for finding them. Practicing self care has gone from a nicety to a necessity. It is necessary to take time to withdraw and renew.

Jitters has done better than I expected adjusting to our new home. He has found new safe spaces. When he cautiously emerges from one of them, I give him praise and tell him how brave he is. Little by little, he has become comfortable. We all need encouragement for the courageous moves we make, both big and small. Now, when I return home from work at the gallery, he greets me at the door and rolls around on the floor, stretching out to his full-length. If only we could all adapt that well and be comfortable in our own skin (or fur.)

I recently finished reading Bishop Mariann Budde’s book, “How We Learn to be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith.” It was published in 2023 and is a retrospective of her faith and life decisions and those of others. The examples give witness to how we can cultivate bravery. One of the book’s notable messages is that bravery is much more than any one heroic act. Bravery is persistence that shows up time after time as each courageous step is taken. Being brave develops and evolves. 

In the introduction, she explains where she is going with her thoughts. She writes:

Living bravely and speaking the truth in love is hard work. We can’t do it all the time. The worthy goal of working for justice and equality takes longer than one lifetime. When things are chaotic and uncertain, it is hard to take a step back and look at whatever is going on through a wider lens. Yet, it is this different perspective that lifts our vision beyond reactivity to a clearer sense of purpose so we can do the next right thing.

One example that struck me was from the life of Madeleine Albright. She was referred to in a memoir as a “twenty-five year overnight success.” She worked very hard to study languages and global policies all while being the mother of three and supporting her husband and his work. Over time, she gained the experiences that eventually thrust her into a pivotal position on a global stage.

I admit that lately I frequently feel like Calvin in this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. 

The way the cartoonist suggested his expression with a few lines feels familiar.

My hope is that each of us will come to believe in our own courageous persistence to find a way forward through the circumstances in which we find ourselves personally, as a community and as a country.

Here is a closing thought from Bishop Budde:

“Perseverance is the hidden virtue of every courageous life. Rarely do we see what it costs others to do what seems effortless to us. Nor do we know what it took for them to carry on when they were tired or discouraged or to start again after failure or disappointment. Wherever we find ourselves in relation to the decisive moments that set us on our life’s trajectory, perseverance is what enables us to keep going, even when we’re stumbling in the dark.”