When I was in 7th grade, the St. Vincent’s grade school PTA decided it was time for a class picnic.
They chose the biggest park in the area and reserved a space, complete with a stone shelter house and a swinging footbridge.
Perhaps you’ve caught the most critical words in the above description: swinging footbridge.
I recall that this park feature crossed over a stream and railroad track WAY down below. The floor of the footbridge was made of a series of wooden slats. Ropes strung on both sides served as railings to help those crossing. I remember watching my classmates merrily rushing across. Not me. 
I knew one misstep and I was a goner. I was terrified and it showed.
So what were the average red-blooded American boys in our class to do when they saw me standing there, frozen in fear? They began hard-swinging the ropes and therefore the bridge. I thought about my little sisters and what they woud think of me, learn from me, if they saw me frozen on the footbidge. Somehow I figured out that I needed to keep my eyes straight ahead. And I raced across.
I have no memory of the feat of fortitude my feet accomplished on that footbridge. But, the memory of the frozen moments beforehand–and how it felt to stand there– can creep into my nightmares and dayfears alike. 
When I hike or drive across a viaduct or overpass. Or when I realize that bravery is again required to navigate a potentially scary situation in my life, my world. Including the current crisis in Ukraine.
Today I read the words of a Maryknoll missionary who fought courageously for the right of people in Mozambique and Rhodesia to control their own lives. Janice McLoughlin wrote “What we don’t understand and fear may teach us we are stronger than we thought.”
In addition, I listened today to the recorded voice of Maya Angelo. She said “Some philosophers say courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without (it) you cannot practice any other virtue consistently…Whether you want to be consistently fair, kind or true or honest or generous, you have to have courage.”
Important words as I remind myself to be open to change what might otherwise be reflexive self-protection. To enable myself to bridge the gap between indecision and resolve, fear and fortitude, inaction and action.
