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Cowardice is usually considered a negative trait, yet this attitude is superficial. Cowardice is a very strong and very human feeling. Moreover, it serves to protect us from harming ourselves, from harming others, and from acting recklessly.
I do not view people who admit that they are cowards negatively. On the contrary, such honesty already shows a degree of self-awareness. What is required is not the eradication of cowardice, but the ability to balance it, i.e., to use it as a protective force to the extent that is necessary.
There is no courage without cowardice. If a person shows fearlessness without any inner restraint, it is a pathological condition and not courage. Animals do not attack blindly. They observe, test, circle around, assess the situation, and only then, if there is no alternative, do they act. When this mechanism is absent, as in the case of a rabid animal, we recognize it as illness. The same applies to humans. Pure recklessness is not bravery; it is a defect.
This understanding is especially important in education. When we tell a child, “Don’t be a coward, be brave,” we usually do more harm than good. What we should teach instead is discernment. We should tell the child to weigh everything, to examine all the pros and cons. Only if you are convinced that there is no other choice should you act decisively. Yes, this means addressing the child as someone capable of wisdom. But what choice do we have? The same principle applies to adults as well.
This is precisely what education is: teaching a balanced attitude toward the world. A child is capable of this, and even very young children, from around the age of three, can begin to learn it. At that age, caution, even what we might call cowardice, can be a great help. Relating to a child in this way means that the parent is teaching not fear, but balance, i.e., how to live responsibly and in harmony with reality.
Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on May 12, 2025. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.