'Confidence'

'The suffering common to many adolescents is a lack of self-confidence. Grown-ups seem so certain, strong and competent; adolescents are in need of affirmation. Personally, I was very lucky. When I wanted to join the navy in 1942, in the middle of the war, I was in Canada with my family and the naval college was in England. At that time, the German U-boats were sinking one ship in three as they crossed the Atlantic. So it was not a good time to leave Canada. Of course, I had to talk about my project to my father. He asked me why I wanted to join the navy. I cannot remember exactly what I told him, but I remember his answer. 'I trust you,' he said. 'If that is what you want to do, then you must do it.' I realized much later that his words gave me life. If he had said, 'Wait a bit, in a few years you will be able to enter the training college for the Canadian Navy,' I would have accepted it. But I would have lost faith in my own intuitions. His confidence in me gave me confidence in myself. It helped me to live fully the challenge before me. I did not want to betray his trust.'

text: Jean Vanier, Our Journey Home, p.95, image