Thoughts on Courage

A good friend and fellow writer, Victor Banis, dropped the following poem in my inbox today. The topic was about courage and faith to face life's hardships. I've been thinking about it all day so I thought I would share.

Victor said: I share with you a poem that for many years has been taped to my typewriter/computer - words I have tried to live by, if not always with total success.

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield,
but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward,
feeling your mercy in my success alone;
But let me find the grasp of your hand
in my failure.

Rabindranath Tagore