Thursday, November 1, 2012

Virescit Vulnere Virtus


As long as I could remember my Dad had this wooden plaque on the wall. It had a carving of a bird feeding its young against a Tartan background. I could see our name written in fancy scroll, the rest was some Latin that I could not understand. Virescit Vulnere Virtus. I asked my Dad and he said it meant Courage grows strong at a wound. I was 6 or 7 and it had no meaning. A few years later I was playing soccer and my Dad was our coach. He had played semi pro in Scotland and was a very fast winger we all respected. We had a practice game with an older team, a big deal when your 9. We were way out of our class and we were not only losing but we were getting laughed at and beaten. I saw a chance and went for the ball, I managed to get by one guy after another even though they kept on taking cheap shots at me. I was within a few feet of the goal line when I took another hit and loss the ball, my shins were stinging and I was red faced and then I got up and went after the ball again. I got it back, kicked it up the field and one of our guys put it in the net.

I had never felt like  that before, so strong and without fear, my Dad said to me when we got home and saw the blood soaked socks from my shins and he said “Courage grows strong at the wound”
I have been guilty of forgetting that feeling, now I try and remind myself. My wife wrote me a note filled with reminders of who I am, who she married who I said I wanted to be.
I’m not sure why we humans are  here any more then anyone else,but I have decided for me its to become a better person. My story that I continue to repeat in these posts because I need to remind myself of what I want. As a guitar player I tune my guitar first before I start to play, I play for a bit and sometimes I find my guitar has gone out of tune, I stop and retune. This is what I do in life, I stop and check to see if I’m still in tune.


Little update to this story: I went and got a tattoo of the Clan crest and altered it a bit with a Lion Rampant to celebrate turning 50 and my life, my youngest son is turning 21 and he also chose to get the clan crest and his is right of the plaque I grew up with.



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9 comments:

  1. For ill or good, I am a Stewart. Generations before me just threw " Virescit Vulnere Virtus" out the window. My mother returned from a visit to Scotland with a Stewart-tartan magnet, with virescit, etc., on the back, plus the translation. Courage. Grows strong. At the wound. Now, every time I remember that, my wounds are somehow redeemed, and I gain courage. May you be healed and encouraged as you think this over.

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    1. I found your page because I'm doing genealogy and I wanted to know what our family coat of arms (or crest) meant. I didn't just find the meaning; I found you, a distant relative. Blessings

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    2. Hello Sherry,Hope I shed some light into your search, and consider yourself hugged from another Scot! All the best too you, your note made my day!

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    3. Good! I'm always happy to make new family connections.

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  2. Hello a Stewart here as well! :D I live this motto every day. I have chronic pain from many conditions yet I'm still fighting to try to live as normal of a life as I can!!! Thank s for this journal post!! :D

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    1. I have learned that life is not normal, take all of your troubles toss them into fire, but you then must reach in and pull out the persons troubles next to you...most of us would scramble back in to get our troubles back. You sound like a very strong person to me. Thank you for taking the time to not only read my post but too respond as well. I have nothing but respect for people who keep trying!

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    2. I think that's basically what the motto is about; to keep trying in spite of the pain. And usually, that struggle, even if only experienced inwardly, will make you stronger.

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