The Power of Courage - A Speech

Speech Transcript:

Nelson Mandela said “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”.

Dear Toastmasters fellow members and guests today I will draw a picture of courage capturing its two shades – “action” and “restrain”.

12 year old Vijay was a great cricket lover but unfortunately he was blind by birth. His friends in school used to taunt and make fun of him but that never dampened Vijay’s indomitable spirit.

Vijay had a secret – a cricket bat with which he used to play with his father. His father knew that a blind boy cannot play cricket, but at the same time he never wanted to hurt Vijay’s feelings. So, he played with Vijay just to make him happy. Soon Vijay learnt to track the sound of the ball as it whipped through the air and bounced in front of him. His father was amazed when Vijay started hitting every ball just by following the sound. This was a secret until a friend of his discovered Vijay’s unique ability.

Next day in school students were busy passing the news of Vijay playing cricket. Some bullies challenged Vijay to play with them. Vijay had promised his father that he won’t play with anyone else, so he started to walk away avoiding the challenge. The bullies taunted him, they said “your father thought that you, a blind, can play cricket – what a fool”. Vijay would not tolerate a word against his father, his coach. He turned around and accepted the challenge. At that time Vijay was unaware that soon he would be facing a hard leather ball unlike the soft cricket balls with which he used to practice with his father.

The news of Vijay playing cricket at school soon reached his mother who called up his father in office. His father ran to the school and saw Vijay in the field, getting ready to face the ball. Vijay’s father jumped over the short fence to stop Vijay but something stopped him – the courage inside him. He came out of the field, stood behind the fence and shouted at Vijay “Come on son; hit it out of the park”.

Vijay heard his father, he tightened his grip on the bat and turned his ear towards the bowler. The first ball was a full toss, Vijay missed it completely. “Steady” his father whispered to himself holding onto the barbed wire on the fence. The second ball was a Yorker which Vijay was able to dig out just in time. The third ball jumped off the turf like a spitting cobra and ruptured Vijay’s left eyebrow. His head reeled, He could feel a trail of blood snaking down his eyes and he collapsed on the ground. His father didn’t move an inch, soft tears rolled down his eyes, he tightened his grip on the barbed wire already stained with his own blood and waited for his son to stand up. Vijay stood up, wiping the blood off his face…the fourth ball was another bouncer, he ducked in time saving his head. The fifth ball was directed at his rib cage, Vijay jumped up and knocked the ball down. The last ball was again a Yorker, this time Vijay could clearly hear the ball approaching him ripping through the air, he got under the ball and scooped it high over the bowler’s head. The ball went up high and dropped sharply on the fielder at the boundary rope. The fielder jumped, the ball brushed his finger and went over the boundary rope. It was a six.

Vijay’s father jumped over the fence, with open arms he ran into the field like a child clutching his son in a tight embrace. Vijay’s dark world was illuminated with joy, he broke into tears and said “thank you dad, for not stopping me”.

Friends, this is how Vijay demonstrated courage through his action while his father demonstrated courage through restrain. Both of them conquered the demon called fear and immortalized the message of Nelson Mandela.