Which Would you Rather Have: Courage or Wisdom?

Courage and wisdom can both boggle the human psyche if applied at the right time and at the right place. Do you remember the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Light Brigade”? Check out the story and you will find out the men involved lack no courage in their endeavors, but wisdom was not apparent. Now King Solomon from the Old Testament was considered the King with wisdom above all his counterparts of that day. However King Solomon did not have to apply courage to apply his wisdom, he was wise within his own kingdom.

Wisdom always seems to solve problems. The wise men in the bible worshipped the child Jesus. Why is this wisdom? Well, King Herod was looking for Jesus, but not to worship him, but to kill him. Yet, the king with all his forces could not find the child. Plato was considered wise during his lifetime because he wrote some of the philosophical foundations for western civilization. Again wisdom solves problems both small and large. 

Now courage seems to override the mundane, ordinary and traditional. Look at what Martin Luther King did during his lifetime and you can see courage. This courage expressed challenged traditions and the staus quo. Look at the suicide bombers that sacrifice themselves because of their belief system. It takes courage. It is unfounded and surely not ordinary to kill yourself for the sake of the cause, but it is courage. Let’s talk about courage, what about Joan of Arc and to have such courage at the age of 19 years old. Once again courage rocks the tradition; it forces those in charge to eliminate any courage created.

However ideally I feel a mix of courage and wisdom would do very nicely. Then you can apply courage and have the wisdom to avoid the punishment. Both can bring extreme mental stress. You see people that are wise usually are ahead of their time and pose a threat to others because their ideas are different. So the wise man or women must weigh in their mind the right time to apply wisdom. There also could never be a right time. It is a challenge to hold back what you know, knowing it can benefit others. With courage you must just screen out what others may think and even what you think and just go for it. Applying courage can be compared to a leap of faith. You know in you gut that you must show and act on courage, but you see no tangible results it may bring. My advice to the wise and those with courage, may you always use wisdom before you take any leap of courage. Good success! Take courage!