Hello and welcome back, or if you just found Humbly Courageous, welcome! I believe we all have humble courage that we have to tap into. Some may be new to it, or others may have been forced to practice using it their whole lives.
So, what do I even mean by humbly courageous, and how did I even start growing my humble courage to begin with? Like I have said before, humble courage, for me, was inevitable because I was born having to face an everyday battle. I learned very early on that I needed this quiet, unassuming courage to survive and thrive. Check out the link below to read more about the meaning behind Humbly Courageous.
https://humblycourageous.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-meaning-behind-humbly-courageous.html?m=1
When you live in a world where everywhere you go, you stand out because of a physical disability, you have to find something to tap into, a place to go mentally where you can feel safe when everything around you feels scary and unwelcoming. If you don’t know me personally, or you haven’t seen videos of me walking, then this probably isn’t making much sense. There is no denying when I walk into a room or a store or wherever it may be, I’m disabled. That’s likely the first thing people are going to notice. My walk is more of an exaggerated sway from side to side. The way my muscle weakness works for me is that when I walk, I use my momentum to swing my right leg around because of something called foot drop, and weak leg muscles. My right foot doesn’t lift up and down when I walk, it just flops. In order to keep from tripping I have to swing my leg out and around. Combined with my weak legs, it’s a small victory every successful step I take! Kind of hard to explain, but you get the picture. I stand out. People stare. Wherever I go. I can’t just inconspicuously walk into a room. I used to have this joke with my high school friends when we would talk about how we don’t remember so and so from school, I’d say, “well there is no forgetting who I am. I can’t blend in too well.”
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| Annual fall hike |
I’m better than I used to be about being self-conscious about it. Now, for the most part, I think to myself …well I am who I am, they will stare and move on!
Since I started my blog, one of my favorite things is when someone will message me or say to me in person, I had to be humbly courageous today. I love hearing that! Humble courage is something we practice and don’t even realize it. It’s that quiet confidence growing inside of us that sometimes we suddenly have to tap into to survive, or maybe like me, you’ve faced an everyday battle where you have to keep your humble courage readily available everyday. Humble courage isn’t boastful or arrogant, it’s a quiet, inner strength. It helps you keep your head held high when you feel like you are drowning. It helps you get to the end of a day when you feel like you can’t go on. It helps you smile through the pain. It simply, keeps you going.
This past week, I had the opportunity to get away for a couple of days with my youngest son for our annual fall break trip. It’s not easy for us to get away together and actually get out and do things. There are a lot of factors that go into traveling with me to make sure things are accessible etc. This kid is a pro and doesn’t miss a beat. Together, we were humbly courageous, and had the best time. Each year, I challenge myself to a fall hike amongst the beautiful trees. Happy to say, I successfully made it through another small hike. This time on a paved trail, but I still consider it a huge success. Thankful for these days. 💚
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