How do you define brave? Putting one’s life in harm’s way for another, voicing an unpopular opinion to a room full of critics? To me, brave is showing courage in the face of adversity & fear, when the odds are stacked against you.
Brave is also making the choice to do something courageous, something uncomfortable, something that pulls you away from the inner narrative of who you should be and what your life should be like. Brave was my brilliant, beautiful, witty friend whose complaints of a stomach ache turned out to be stage four cancer. Her brave was choosing to show up each day to a nightmare of a situation, a life she never fathomed, a life she didn’t recognize. Look at this brilliant gal, Danielle's Big Adventure. In the face of earth-shattering, knock-you-to-your-knees news, she didn’t crumble. She chose to be brave, walk hand in hand with the fear & uncertainty every day, and fight like hell.
She rallied her troops, built a “Band of Broads” that lent a collective hand when she stumbled on her new journey, an army of supporters to fortify her in her weakest moments. Using her exceptional persuasion skills and quick-witted commentary, she bravely raised funds for rare cancer research. Not to be silenced by fear, she donned her chemo bag while navigating Capitol Hill, clinging to her former “normal” while bravely blazing her newest trail.
She dared to “get dark” with her closest confidants, discussing the nightmares and realities that were always a thought, a test result away. Brave. She was scared, but facing that fear head on made her brave. She didn’t give up, or give in to the opinions, findings, she held onto her brave. When she made the decision to let go, she was at her bravest, embarking on death knowing she had fought a courageous battle, having created a life that was true, honest and full of love and meaning. Her journey was noble, graceful and fierce.
Each day, we have the option to show up bravely. Why wait until someday to connect to our brave? What are we doing if not connecting to our brave to live our best life now? Surely there’s no better time than the present to confront that nagging voice that urges us to explore the uncomfortable. There’s no better time than now to set aside the narrative we or someone else created for us and dare to explore a new path. I challenge you to think about that, get in touch with that part of you that you’ve been shushing, ignoring. What’s that telling you? Isn’t it time to connect with your brave? If not now, when?