Brave

All it takes is one moment of pure, unadulterated bravery to change everything. It's that decision we make when the moment comes that scares us to our very core. It could be something big and obvious, like the moment before taking the plunge when sky diving, or it could be the moment when we reach out and touch someone's soul, or even scarier, let them touch ours. Without the willingness to be brave for just a few seconds, I firmly believe that nothing great will ever happen to you.

Fear seems to be a constant theme in my writing, but that's because it seems to be a constant theme in life. Bravery, while not an antidote to fear, is the only way to combat it. You need to be willing to face the negative consequences (i.e. the source of the fear) in order to reap the rewards of the positive ones. In skiing you need to be willing to fall in order to push yourself forward (but please stay within your skill level; there's a difference between bravery and stupidity). In life you need to be willing to face ridicule in order to accomplish anything great, and you need to be willing to face unhappiness in your pursuit of happiness. That last part may seem counter-intuitive, but it can be phrased in a more conventional way: you have to be willing to risk it all to get what you want. To me that sounds too much like gambling instead of making an educated choice. Because the benefit of facing unhappiness is that you can always make another choice to become happy again; there's only so many times you can risk it all.

Unfortunately, so many people are afraid to risk it all, because that's how they see it. I would not only implore, but also challenge those individuals to do one thing: have one moment of pure, stupid, all-in bravery. It doesn't have to be on something huge, but try it, just once. Then they might see that, even it if doesn't work out how they wanted, it's not the end of the world. Bravery begets bravery, and wouldn't the world be so much grander if people weren't afraid to actively try to be happy, to be better, and to have a bit more fun?