Choose Brave
B R A V E (defined) adj: ready to face and endure danger or pain; to show courage. verb: to endure, to bear, to withstand unpleasant conditions or behavior. noun: people who are ready to face and endure danger or pain; a warrior. I decided I wanted to write this not because I exude bravery, although I wish I did, but because I live a life frequently consumed with fear. And while it probably seems counter intuitive that a person afraid of everything has anything meaningful to say about bravery, I think the world benefits more from a voice of genuine struggle than unrealistic expectation. That is, I think far too often the majority of people encouraging us to be brave or courageous fail to acknowledge its precursor -- fear. To most people, including myself, fear is an ugly word. It is weakness, and shame. Fear is something we try to hide, or that we attempt to bury. We expend precious energy trying to convince ourselves that we're fearless, and ot