Courage

Now I admire knights without armors,
men who don't hide under protective defenses;
men who dare to be vulnerable
and reveal their fragility.

I do not admire men equipped to destroy
but men who dare to protect the weak,
men whose swords are not for harming
but for shielding.

Courage without might is foolishness:
I have my sword, powerful enough to kill,
well-made to cut anyone into pieces.
Look how the rays of the sun glitter on it;
just one blow and you would perish.

But courage without love is selfishness
courage without humility is violence
courage without vulnerability is harshness
courage without endurance is just a cabaret.

Courage is not escaping circumstances
that cause the heart or the body to ache.
It is facing my own weakness and brokenness,
the only way to truly understand
brothers and sisters who are weak and broken.

Courage is daring to love simply as myself
without masks that could be ripped off.
In courage there is great rest and peace
since no masks can be taken away.
This requires the greatest courage
to humbly face the risk of being rejected,
to face the risk of failing to love and to be loved.