Catch 22

I've been watching a program on TV about the children affected by the explosion at Chernobyl. So many of the children have been born with physical and mental abnormalities. The worst part is that many of them were just abandoned by their parents because of it. The children's hospitals are struggling to manage their care.

I am in awe of the people who work in these hospitals and with the children. I'm in awe of the people who continued to work after the reactor exploded to prevent further damage, knowing that it was probably a death sentence for them.

It all makes me wonder if I would have the courage to keep working, or to take care of the children at the hospital, or even be a parent that chose not to abandon their deformed child. Courageous acts take, well...courage. Do I have that kind of courage?

Here's the Catch 22: In order to find out if you have enough courage, you must be placed in a situation calling for courage. However, once in the situation, if you don't have enough courage, you're stuck with not only a bad situation, but also with the realization that you're a coward.

I don't want to be a coward.