You know, I just realized today that I love being funny. I love looking at an audience and making them laugh and clap. That is bravery folks. We have to test the waters when we want to make people laugh. Sometimes it doesn't work because what we show isn't "natural." We have to see the humor before anyone else does particulary when you walk on a stage.
How do we defne bravery? I feel that bravery is defined as having to approach a situation that has an unpredictable outcome. I can think of so many instances where bravery is required Here's a few:
- Marriage - When the decision to marry happens, you must be brave. Love is love. This is true. Looking into the eyes of your intended, you see a "soul mate." Having said that, bravery is required regardless. You want your marriage to be the right decision and that folks takes time. There are so many challenges and bravery is required to weather the storms that pass through a couple. If the love is real, it lasts. Communication helps too. You remember how you met. You remember your first date. You remember the first time you kissed.
- Starting a new job - When you finally get employed for the postiion you wanted, that is only the beginning. There is a "tenure" that is required before you finally feel secure that the paycheck will last and be forth-coming for a retirement .
- Your first year of public school - Kindergarten is scary. You hope that your teacher is 'nice" and cares about you. You are eager to learn and do not want to make mistakes. You are learning to read, handle math problems and well you hope to eat lunch with friends. You want to make friends in class and on the bus. You want your teacher to like you. Bravery.
- Your first apartment or your first mortgage- You agreed to pay rent every month. Your first obligation. Along with that came your first credit card. You bought your groceries and serviced your car. Moving out on your own terms means your brave enough to live on your own and live a responsible life.
As time moves on and for most of us, we want to live a very, very long, worthwhile life, we have to brave. We have to face our imperfections and everyone else's. Yes, everyone else's. The blinders have to come off. We have to accept that being courageous means accepting that we can not expect perfection. We are foolish if we do. Either that or we will always be gravely disappointed.
Courage means opening the doors that we are afraid to open. When we do, this is how we learn. Without courage, we learn absolutely nothing. Courage is what is required when we fail and when we succeed and move further into the path in front of us. It means we do the things we do not think are possible. From those instances, we grow.
