I can’t tell you how many times people have called me
“ballsy”. I am not a daredevil committing death-defying stunts. Even the
occasional acts of reckless abandon are weighed heavily over time and only
appear to be slightly impetuous. So what are these people really saying to me?
The last guy to comment on the nature of my balls was
reacting to my suggestion that I am a very good catch. Though he agreed, he
thought it brave somehow for me to express such a sentiment out loud. Was it?
Is it?
Conclusion, dear readers, it is brave. Time and time again
this label of ballsy is a reaction to my ability to be absolutely honest and
open about my true feelings. So it got me thinking about what courage really
means. The acronym “cou” is derived from the French word for “heart”,
“inner-most feelings” and “temper”. And “rage”, of course, in its origin was
meant to express furious intensity or passion, i.e. “to be mad”.
Heart madness. Furious intensity of the innermost feelings.
Courage turns out to be nothing more than vulnerability; the willingness to not
only listen to the heart, but to honor its temperaments through acts of
passion. Vulnerability itself is an openness to an attack.
So, you can call it balls if you want, but I’ll call it courage because the
etymology of the word turns out to be pretty rad. I will be soft and open and vulnerable. I
will express what is in my heart with intensity. I will rage.
