Courage, is a commonly known noun thought to have a simple meaning, but when described by Karen Castellucci Cox, its true complex nature is reveled. Cox’s explains how people perceive courage to be one dimensional, but she believes that when it is described as an isolated emotion, it has various traits. In the article, Four Types of Courage, Cox, breaks down courage into physical, social, moral and creative. This article not only broadens the horizons on the many ways to perceive courage, but also how one can identify the type of courage they have. In life one always looks to find themselves and what they are capable of. Discovering the type of courage you have is one of the many steps to understanding what you can do.

 

            When I think of physical courage I think of strength. In my mind, when doing anything courageously you must be confident in your ability to do it. To have strength is to be able, whether it be physical, emotional or psychological. All of these types of courage are aspects of the physical. A good illustration of this would be a life guard. Due to his physical abilities he is able to save a person who, either cannot swim or cannot save their selves. Cox’s sheds light on the physical sacrifice of the job, instead of the physical ability. Her focus would not be in the life guard’s ability to swim, but him risking his own life to save another. Sure most people that take these type of risk are trained and prepared, but we shouldn’t overlook their courage.

 

            To have social and moral courage at times means facing your worst fears. In our society being social is almost a must. As children, from the age we start school and finish it we are grouped together. We use the buddy system to insure safety. We advocate peer interaction, because we believe it is healthy. In this article Cox’s address the scary reality that social and moral courage can cause your peers to reject you. Speaking out on things that are widely controversial can mean to suffer repercussions that one may not be able to handle. Dr. Martin Luther king spoke out for human equality, and was assassinated. To have this type of courage can cost you your life. Standing up for what is right is important, but do you think it’s worth the repercussions?

 

              Finally Cox’s addresses creative courage, and how this type of courage is the beginning of great things. When I think of the word creative the first thing that pops in my mind is art. Talent plays a big role in creativity. For example your capacity to think of an idea, set a goal and complete it. Often what is over looked is the thought process. Anyone can have an idea, but what makes it creative is its unique qualities. Cox’s address that creative courage has to do with thinking out of the box. Daring to do things that no one has done. A good demonstration of this is an Earth ship. An Earth ship is a house made completely out of recycled materials. Not only are the materials recycled, but the house is completely self-sufficient. When the idea hit the architect community it was disowned as extremely unconventional and ridiculous. Now there are thousands of earth ships nationwide. The idea became a reality, because the creator had the courage to go forward with it even though it was marked to fail.

 

            These four types of courage all had one thing in common. They all had a greater purpose behind them. Saving another’s person’s life, fighting for equality and taking risks for the well-being of the earth. Once you come to realize who you are, something greater starts to develop within you. Once courage develops inside of you, you start to think differently. Cox’s said, “We lose much when we dismiss it in ourselves, thinking we don’t measure up.” The fact of the matter is once we stop trying to find ourselves, we see the bigger scheme of things and take courage to be a part of it.