“Courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Nelson Mandela
What does courage mean to you? This word means a lot of different things to most people, but for most, courage means the lack of fear.
For Nathan, Maruko, and Chungsun Breland, led a project with Dr. Soonok Kang, Hyanghwa Kwak and Pilhyun Kwak in Edmonds Washington, USA on June 5, 2022. They started by discussing what courage means and how they can live courageously using the Family Values Education Handbook created by GPW and US-based non-profit, Doing Good Together.
They discussed that courage also sometimes means saying, “No.” “In school there is negative peer pressure to do drugs or other harmful activities. Courage is saying no in these situations. Sometimes we can say no politely, but if the peer pressure is strong, it is fine to say no strongly.”
They also defined courage as the taking the initiative and being a good example to others. “Courage can mean being a good example that others can look up to. Courage means doing what's right, even if it means you will be standing alone,” reflected Nathan Breland, who led the family project.
Taking positive action, despite fears, is courage. Having a strong vision, a powerful dream and purpose and positive intention feeds our courage to take the first step and to face adversity.
The team built herb and flower planters for their neighbors as their small act of courage and positive action..
These Sunshine Family Volunteers demonstrated courage in their small act of kindness. If you have a Sunshine Family Volunteer story to share or your family wants to start a project, email younshim.park@globalpeacewomen.org.