Every 13 seconds, there is one divorce in America, which leaves 43% of children to be raised without their father. Gerard Butler also belonged to the 43%. Being only 18 months old, his parents split and his mother left for Quebec and returned to Scotland with Gerard.
Post separation, Gerard celebrated his birthday without his father, Edward. That was, until suddenly out of nowhere after 15 years Edward called him to meet up at a restaurant. This was a huge thing, as after the meeting, Gerard being overwhelmed to see his father, cried for hours. He could not control the flow of emotions. “That emotion showed me how much pain can sit in this body of yours; pain and sorrow that you don’t know you have until it is unleashed.” explained Gerard later.
Following the meeting, Gerard became very close with his father for the next 5 years, until Edward’s cancer split them apart forever.
You always have to keep in mind that you never know when it will be too late, but fortunately, despite staying separated for 16 years, Edward and Gerard spent the last 5 years together. And this happened only because one day, Edward found the courage to call Gerard. The call that he could have done for all of those years, until he made the choice to do it.
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”- Maya Angelou
Stuff happens to all of us. It is OK to disagree, but it is not OK to disengage when you have responsibility of a child caused out of a relationship when things were OK. Gerard was not involved in the separation of his parents. But he had to bear the consequences of the choice his parents exercised.
As Gerard said – “The thing about courage is it’s something that we have to learn and relearn our whole lives. It’s not just in you, it’s in every choice we make, every day.”
Courage is not a state that you can achieve, but courage is found in acting upon the small choices and decisions you have been avoiding.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”― E.E. Cummings
You don’t need to be courageous to change the whole world for everyone, because sometimes finding the courage to do just one call can make a difference to one person that can change the world for him.
Remember the Win is Within You and we are here to help you BE victorious.
Dr. Owen Fernandes MBA, Ph.D.
