COURAGE MONTH: DAY 13: “I have never killed anybody, it is true, but it is because I lacked the courage or the time, not because I lacked the desire”― Eduardo Hughes Galeano
I laughed when I read this quote. I certainly relate to the author. And most of the time, it was when I was drunk or high that I felt that strongly against someone.
Seldom since I have been into recovery have I felt that angry or hurt by anyone. There have been a few folks I disliked, but kill? No.
Mostly, this reminds me that I am extremely grateful that I never did harm someone to that extent when I was drunk or high. It was certainly a possibility that I could have done so in an accident or because my temper flared so crazily, along with the unseemly company I kept, most of who had the ways and means and skills of violence. (Yeah, I fit in, but not all the time!)
I know a lot of people who did get involved in violence around their addictions. And I feel for them because it so easily could have been me. So easily. I do not kid myself about that.
However, the one thing I really want to say about this quote is that I am in complete disagreement with the author about one thing here. It takes NO courage to kill someone. The real courage is in walking away from situations where killing can take place. Violence is not a courageous act. Being non-violent when Ego tells us otherwise is the courageous way to walk. That is very, very important to state here, as I see it. Really the only reason I chose this quote. First it made me laugh and then I thought about it and realized it was completely erroneous, if that is what the author believes courage entails.
Dolphin Hug 