FORTITUDE: mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger,or temptation courageously. (Dictionary.com)

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Fortitude is not something you learn, it is something that is part of your makeup. Maybe it is genetic, or maybe it is something which grows out of the environment in which you are raised. Wherever it comes from, Fortitude is a gift, especially in these difficult times.

When a person can be resilient in the face of difficulty, they are a whole step ahead of those who cave in and cry defeat. Hanging on the wall at the site of the Physical Therapy facility I frequent is a sign. It has just one word on it, Can't and there is a line through it. The message is clear. It is not a word spoken in that facility, and I have seen miracles occur in the situations of people who are there at the same time as my appointments.

My late mother-in-law was a woman who was born into adversity. Physical illness dogged her through her entire adult life...illness beyond that which most of us experience. Part of every day of her adult life had to be set aside for medical therapy which was difficult, uncomfortable, and humiliating. As a result of it, she was told she could bear no children. But she was a tough Irish woman who couldn't accept those words...thankfully. In spite of medical advice she gave birth to my wife, who has inherited some of her mother's fortitude.

Today my wife will face surgery which is difficult and potentially dangerous. But, in my wife's perspective, it is also a procedure which will free her from limitations and give her new strength. That's the kind of fortitude physicians welcome. It makes their job a little bit easier.