From the first steps we take to our first job, first credit card, getting married, giving birth, fathering a child, another child, and maybe another one, retiring, to the day we prepare to leave this world, life is full of frightening firsts.
When we take our first steps we look intently into the eyes of our mother or father. We are full of faith and we know that they will catch us if we should fall. But as life goes on, we do not have our parents to catch us and we need to face many ‘firsts’ alone. Most of the lessons we learn come from the tumbles we take in these first ‘firsts’. It is natural to be fearful of new realities in our life. To not be would almost be a form of denial or insouciance. That is why man is to live in a society where the elders can help the younger; where the veteran can help the novice. We often see teenagers who, so sure of themselves, arrogantly ignore their parents, sheepishly return home for some help and good advice as they start facing the difficult realities of paying their own bills, independent living and raising a family. Sad to say, these situations which should resolve in people helping each other often end in bitter ‘I told you so’ conflicts. Here is an anecdote i found to illustrate the point. “An English naval officer," writes C.G. Trumbull, "has told a grateful story of the way he was helped and saved from dishonor in his first experience in battle. He was a midshipman, fourteen years old. The volleys of the enemy's musketry so terrified him that he almost fainted. The officer over him saw his state, and came close beside him, keeping his own face toward the enemy, and held the midshipman's hand, saying in a calm, quiet, affectionate way, "Courage, my boy. You will recover in a minute or two. I was just like that when I went into my first battle." The young man said afterward that it was as if an angel had come to him and put new strength into him. The whole burden of his agony was gone, and from that moment he was as brave as the oldest of the men. If the officer had dealt sternly with him, he might have driven him to cowardly failure. His kindly sympathy with him dispelled all fear, put courage into his heart and made him brave for battle. A true leader is one who has the ability to give courage and make others also feel great.
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