Courage, inspired by a five year old

Pause for Thought on the Sara Cox Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 2
Courage, as instructed by a 5 year old

Script:

I was recently bungled into the car by my eight year old nephew and five year old niece, for what can only be described as an SAS training camp for under-10s in soft play.

I want to apologise first to my 40-plus year old body, and second to all the parents and children who were subject to my screams while I was being catapulted down a dark, bendy tunnel slide before coming to a halt, horizontal and still screaming. 

Seconds earlier, I stood at the mouth of the ominous slide I couldn’t see the end of, and told my 5 year old niece, “I can’t get in there, I’m too scared!” She fistbumped the air and said, “You can do it, khala jaan!” And she was proven right – just about. 

I read that the word “courage” comes from the Latin root ‘cor’, meaning “heart”, and I’ve often wished I had more of it. 

When I was a kid, my little heart was far more fearless, but the fears grew with my limbs, and with the inner scratches and bruises that adulting brings.

It’s because I’ve failed so many times getting work ideas over the line, that I fear trying so hard again. It’s because I’ve been hurt by a friend I thought was forever, that I shrink from handing my trust over to another. It’s because I fear what might come next – like a slide I can’t see the end of – that I struggle to step into a new tomorrow.

But I need to let those four words my niece said settle in my core, “You can do it”. Like her, I need to have more courage, and like her, I need to have more heart. 

“Resilience is not never getting hurt.” says the American Muslim speaker and author, Yasmin Mogahed. “Resilience is being broken into a million pieces and having the courage to let God put you back together.” 

I want to welcome the courage that pieces me back together, because yes, I’ll likely get hurt, and yes I don’t know what’s around the corner, but I have to keep getting on that slide, even if I come out screaming. 

Listen here: Pause for Thought on the Sara Cox Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 2