We’ll Call it Courage Anyway

Posted on by Wynne Leon

When we brought our puppy home in early August, the weather was sunny, with 14 hour days and warm nights. The cushions were out on the front porch furniture and the doors to come inside were open 80% of the time. And our cat refused to meet the new puppy. She preferred to stay outside and come and go as she pleased.

Now, two and a half months later, after we’ve had a couple of big storms, the temperature has fallen to the mid-50’s, and the front porch cushions have been collected and stored in the crawl space, the cat is “suddenly” interested in pushing through the doors and crossing paths with the puppy.

I would never presume to know what a cat is thinking, but it appears from the outside, that the weather conditions have caused a change in her willingness to be brave.

And it’s made me wonder, if there’s an element of self-interest in something we do, is it still courageous?

Erin cited the etymological origin of courage in a post earlier this month to be “the twelfth century French word corage, meaning heart, innermost feelings, or temperament.”  Courage is heart work. Whether or not there’s a calculated advantage is head work. It reminds me of stories of people who needed to act quickly to stand in the line of fire or rush into the burning building, and say afterwards there was no consideration of the long-term outcome.

Reading all the great posts about bravery this month reminds me that gathering courage seems to start in the heart and then also require great heart to stay at it. Whether or not our heads agree with it is beside the point.

I’m no cat whisperer but I know from experience it is harder to summon this kind of courage when you’re facing an issue not of your own volition.  So I’m calling her courageous anyway.

I’ve written a related post about the moments we need to recognize on my personal blog: Pause to Celebrate

38 thoughts on “We’ll Call it Courage Anyway”

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  2. Whether a brave heart or a courageous heart, encountering those who have it is always remarkable. I imagine your children will model themselves after the mother who had the courage to believe she could do a two-person job alone out of choice rather than necessity.

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  4. Good for you cat, even if she needed a big of encouragement! 😆 I’d say it’s courage under fire – or in this case, chillier weather. Some of us need a bit of a nudge to find our courage and hope it leads to more moments to bond with Cooper! You never know what lies ahead with these two.

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  5. I tend to agree with LA in this. Perhaps in the moments of extremely heightened stress or danger many would simply act, but in general I think there’s a bit of self-interest and gratification that comes with many moments we would define as courageous. Something motivates us to step out of our ordinary reverie and act to benefit others, society, even ourselves in some way. I think that’s okay. The cat had/has her reasons but overall she has decided to act now. Perhaps it was her grand plan, perhaps she’s just cold. At the very least she’s acting on her feelings and making forward progress 😉

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    1. That make so much sense as “motivation.” And given that she’s a cat, it probably doesn’t matter which it was, she’ll just pretend it was her grand plan. 🙂 But you’re right, Deb – it’s forward progress!

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    1. Probably because I never use it. Her name is “Simone” which is Simon plus an “e” so that she could inherit Simon the bad cat’s stuff. 🙂 Maybe that’s why we always just call her “kitty.”

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  8. What an interesting perspective. It reminds me a bit of Maggie Kuhn’s quote: “Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.” No matter where the courage comes from, we still ultimately need to take action in the face of fear. Also, what a sweet picture of your furry friends!

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    1. Even if your voice shakes — that’s so good, Erin! Yes, action in the face of fear.

      I’m glad you liked the picture. Surprised that the puppy hasn’t won the cat over because he’s pretty darn calm around her!

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      1. I’m sure they’ll eventually be friends. My parent’s 13-year-old cat was not fond of the new kitten, but he eventually trained her to fetch treats and now they’re amicable. 😂

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  9. Yes, I’m sure there’s some self interest involved by the cat …. But I still think of it as courage all the same. The climber who helps others up the mountain. Someone may look at him or her and say their getting something for themselves, and maybe they are, but they still sacrificed and took a back seat for someone else. It’s when the self interest outweighs the courage to such a large extent that I start to question the person’s ulterior motives!!!!

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  10. I’m calling the kitty courageous. She could pick another family to move in with. Cats do make changes like that if they are too frightened. Or she could find some safe, warm place outside. Sometimes they need time to get used to each other. Olive is afraid of strangers. She is finally courageous and comes out to see who is visiting when we have people over. She never used to do this but hid in the closet. Now she makes a couple “walk bys” before heading to a hiding place.

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      1. Yes, we had a cat that spent two weeks away and two weeks with us when I was young. We were convinced he had two homes. I’m always surprised to see Olive make an appearance when we have company.

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  11. I don’t think having an element of self-interest makes our choices any less courageous. One of my student’s parents had two full-time jobs and was attending night school to change careers. He still attended most school events and was always supportive of me. I always viewed him as being courageous enough to want to improve his life and that of his family.

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