We all face moments when doing the right thing feels inconvenient, uncomfortable, or even costly. These are the moments that test our character, not when it is easy to stand, but when everything around us pushes us to sit down and seek comfort.

History gives us many examples of quiet courage, but few are as striking as the story of a fragile, elderly man standing bare-headed in the freezing rain, not for glory or recognition, but out of respect and principle. His actions did not make headlines for heroism, but they revealed something far rarer: A soul anchored in honor.

This is a story about conviction over comfort, about doing what is right not what is easy, and it challenges us to ask: Would I do the same?

A Final Act of Honor: Why General Joe Johnston Refused Comfort

It was a very cold, rainy day when the funeral procession of General William Tecumseh Sherman made its slow march through the streets of New York. The year was 1891; the crowd watched as pallbearers carried the coffin of a man who had changed the course of the American Civil War.

Among the pallbearers was someone unexpected, General Joseph E. Johnston, a former Confederate commander who had once fought against Sherman. Now old, fragile, and vulnerable to the very cold chill of the February air, Johnston was standing bare-headed in the steady rain.

Repeatedly, again and again, friends and aides urged him to step aside or at the very least wear a hat, and his answer was always the same: NO! “If the positions were reversed,” he said, “Sherman would not do so.” It was a quiet but powerful act of respect toward a former enemy, but more than that, toward honor itself. Johnston chose dignity over comfort, integrity over ease; he stood tall in the storm not because it was easy or expected, but because it was right.

Like me, do you ever catch yourself craving comfort? I do, more often than I would like to admit and I think it’s highly unlikely that you don’t, like who doesn’t crave comfort, right? The word “craving” sounds feminine and funny to me, Lol, in fact I told someone that just yesterday, but that’s by the way. 

It’s so easy to want the soft, easy version of reality, the one that doesn’t challenge us, that lets us stay right where we are, in our comfort zone, unbothered, but if you really think about it, staying in your comfort zone, and choosing comfort over truth, has a way of coming back to bite us, maybe not every time but it does come back to let use know we were wrong to do that.

Continue Reading: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All Else

Doing Right Regardless of Circumstance

What Johnston did echoes an eternal principle that is very much found throughout the writings of Marcus Aurelius: If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it. And elsewhere: Do what is necessary, and whatever the result, accept it with humility.

The Stoics did not believe in doing what was convenient; they believed in doing what was necessary, what was right, even when it came at a personal cost. They taught that virtue is not just about thoughts or beliefs; it is about actions, especially when those actions are difficult, misunderstood, and sometimes even dangerous.

Johnston was tired; he was old, and he was likely unwelcome in the eyes of many Northern mourners, but he did not let bitterness or self-preservation dictate his behavior. He honored Sherman because it was the right thing to do, and in that moment, he lived out Stoicism without ever naming it. This was a man who did not follow the crowd or chase public favor; he followed a code.

One of the many things about the truth is that it has a way of demanding to be seen. It doesn’t care about our feelings, our fears, or how badly we wish something was different. But here is another thing I’ve also learnt, that when I chase, seek and stand for the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it shakes me up, that’s when I find real peace. The kind that actually lasts.

So, I want you to ask yourself this question: do I want the comfort of a lie, or the deep, unshakable strength of truth? If I don’t stand for the truth, then what am I even standing on?

Continue Reading: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All Else

Living by a Code: When Principles Matter More Than Pain

Johnston’s act was not just symbolic, it was costly, because he caught pneumonia from standing bare-headed in that freezing rain, and within a month, he was dead, and yet, he died with his integrity intact.

In today’s world and to so many, comfort is king and primary. We are constantly told to protect ourselves, avoid discomfort, and seek ease, but character is not formed or revealed, in comfort. It is revealed in the cold, in the rain, in moments when it would be so easy to say, “I have done enough.”

The truth is, doing the right thing often will not come with applause; it might not even be understood, but like Johnston, we must live in such a way that our lives honor not just ourselves, but the values we claim to believe in. Because when the storm comes and it will; what will matter is not how comfortable we were, but whether we stood tall and did the right thing.

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. C. S. Lewis

Continue Reading: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All Else

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Conclusion

What storm are you in right now? What is the right thing to do, especially if it is not the easy thing? In a space where people are obsessed with convenience, choose character! In a culture driven by applause, choose integrity! Because standing tall in the storm may cost you, but shrinking in comfort will cost you even more.

If You Look for Truth, You May Find Comfort in the End

I keep coming back to this idea, truth first, comfort later. Seems like a hard one to live by, right? Because let’s be real, sometimes, truth is rarely comfortable in the moment. It shakes us up, challenges what we think we know, and forces us to confront things we would rather avoid, but like I said, every time I’ve chosen to face the truth, no matter how much it stung, I’ve found something deeper on the other side, real peace.

Continue Reading: Seeking And Facing The Truth Above All Else