Courage or Cowardice?

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At some point we all wonder if, when faced with a dangerous situation, we will be courageous. When Ayuba, the principal character in the book In The Shadow of Babylon, is preparing for his first battle he confesses to his father that he is worried he may lack courage. His father, a renown warrior, explains that the difference between being a courageous person and a coward is in how he thinks of himself. Those who picture themselves giving into fear will react that way when faced with a dangerous challenge, whereas those who picture themselves as rising to the occasion will be victorious. Here's how his father explains it:

"Fear is the unseen partner that rides with us all. The difference between those with courage and cowards,” he said, looking deep into my eyes, “is simply a feat of imagination. When faced with a charging lion or a screaming warrior with a spear, we all feel fear. It’s what gives us strength to overcome the threat. So at the moment of…” he hesitated, “…finality, the coward and the hero feel the same fear.”

“Why then do the two react so differently?”

“Because the coward has experienced that fear many times…and in his imagined fear he has seen his death.” Father’s smile was gone now. A look of sadness crossed his wide brow.

“And the hero?”

“He too responds as he has imagined that moment—with valor and certitude. He has lived the victory many times in the dreams of his heart and with each dreaming, he has been victorious.”

Ayuba's father teaches him a small poem that will help him train himself to be brave:

Sleep, and in the veil of night

Dream of valor in the light

When comes the awakening dawn

It is your dreams you act upon