The Allegory of Timidity, Cunning and Courage

Timidity wanted to hide from itself, but where?
Cunning advised it:
“Why don’t you settle with Courage? It won’t be so scary then.”
Timidity went to Courage, but was afraid to knock on the door, so Timidity just laid down on Courage’s porch. Since then, the path to courage lies through timidity.

This is true because with an egoistic nature, where we each wish to benefit ourselves at the expense of others, it is impossible to achieve courage without fear. How do courageous people deal with this? It is by overcoming timidity. It turns out that the more timid we are, and the more we overcome timidity, the braver we become.

We are fundamentally timid because our egoistic nature, which acts in a direction of self-preservation, prevents us from acting recklessly against ourselves. It naturally works to protect itself against any perception of harm that might come its way.

It is important to understand that timidity is a very strong human feeling and it protects us from several problems that we could cause ourselves and others.

We should thus not look down on people who say they are timid, as is commonly the case. We just need to know how to balance this force and take care of ourselves in any situation with consideration for how much it is needed.

There is no such thing as courage without fear, unless it is pathological. We can take animal behavior as an example. Animals do not attack recklessly, but check, make circles, and so on, and only if it is necessary do they rush forward. If a person is purely reckless and courageous, then they are not actually courageous.

In relation to these two qualities, we should weigh everything, for and against, and solely if we are convinced that there is no other way, then we can strike. Timidity and caution should be taught as qualities that help us protect ourselves and create a balanced view of the world.