"You can't test courage cautiously"

This quote by Annie Dillard is a pointer that guts is not something that can be checked in a safe, controlled environment. Nerve is a quality that is just exposed in the face of risk or difficulty. It is not something that can be determined or evaluated in a lab setting. Courage is a quality that is just revealed when one is willing to take risks and face the unidentified. It is a characteristic that is only exposed when one wants to put themselves in a susceptible position and gamble. Nerve is not something that can be checked meticulously, it is something that should be experienced in order to be comprehended.