Prompt: Write about a quiet act of courage.
All right, the prompt for today, July 14th, 2026, is: Write about a quiet act of courage.
What I’m thinking about is when I used to live in Calgary. I would photograph marathons around the city, and I remember one race in particular.
I was standing, I think, about five kilometres from the finish line, so I was the last photographer before the finish. There was one woman still out on the course. I think she was running the half marathon—actually, maybe it was the 10K. I can’t quite remember. What I do remember is that she was well behind the rest of the runners.
Most of the race had already gone by, but I decided to wait because one of the cyclists following the course told me there were still a couple of runners coming. So I stayed and took her photo.
The following year, I saw her again. She was faster. The year after that, she was faster again. I photographed her for four years, and each year I remember her improving.
I think that was a fantastic thing she was doing.
She was overweight when I first saw her, and every year she looked healthier and healthier. That quiet determination—that willingness to keep showing up year after year—is phenomenal. I don’t know her name. I don’t know anything about her other than that she ran those races and I happened to be there taking photographs.
Sometimes I think about that because it takes a lot to step forward and do something like that for yourself.
It’s not easy.
I can’t even get myself to the gym on a regular basis. Even finding time to do my physio for my wrist, I’ll tell myself, I’ll do it in five minutes. I’ll do it in five minutes.
I think it’s that discipline—that constant overcoming of whatever hurdle is in front of you, that willingness to keep moving forward despite it all—that’s encouraging. I think it’s wonderful.
I think we can apply that to many aspects of our lives.
At least I often put things off. I’ll do the dishes later. I’ll clean up later. I’ll photograph my pen rests later. I’ll list them later. Everything seems to become later.
I think understanding where you want to be, having a plan to get there—even if that isn’t ultimately the exact plan you follow—and continuing anyway, despite everything, no matter what people say, think, or feel… I think that’s courageous.
But I wonder if courage has more to do with yourself—how you think, how you feel, how you perceive yourself—than it does with anyone else.
I don’t know.
Anyway, you can find this prompt and many more at Letters’ Lounge, www.letterslounge.com.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so please leave a comment or a link to your own blog or audio journal, and I’ll be sure to check it out.
All right, folks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was lightly cleaned up with the help of AI to improve readability while preserving the original voice and intent of the recording.
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