100 Days to Brave - Day 4 "When you see brave, say so."

Day 4 - When you see Brave, say so.  

Annie, you are totally right.  When we see bravery it inspires us to be brave.  When we hear about fictional characters being brave in fictional stories, we are still emboldened to act courageously.  Then, when we witness bravery in the lives of real people in the world around us, we stand with them becoming this wall of support.  Or, do we witness bravery when we provide a wall of support at just the right moment for someone teetering on deciding between braveness and fear.

I find it brave when people new to open mic nights walk on stage for the first time and perform for a new audience. I also get nervous for them. Will they be awesome, and blow us away?  Will they freeze up in fear?  I watch to see what happens, prepared to clap in applause no matter what.  In general, they do great!  The audience cheers for the stellar performance before the performer walks off the stage with a ginormous smile on their slightly flushed face rushing back to their seat to relive their first performance in their head several times throughout the remainder of the evening.  That's the moment I wonder...was this person brave because we provided the support they needed to act, or would they have been brave regardless? 

Yesterday I said I am brave.  I act bravely often.  I know it because I feel fear all the time.  Seriously, ALL. THE. TIME.  I move forward anyway.  Today I wonder what has made me brave?  Was I always brave, or was it the wall of support I draw upon on a daily basis?  My answer is both.  I remember moments in childhood where I was brave...like when I climbed the tree in my front yard to reach the rooftop of our home where I would sit and watch the neighborhood pass by.  I was scared of falling, but I wanted to get away from people...no one else in my family climbed trees.  No one really supported this aventure of mine, it was all me.

Then there were the times as a teenager I feared talking to anybody about the abuse I was surviving.  It took a friend who knew me well enough to know something was wrong, and I needed help.  He was my wall of support to help me put an end the abuse.  As an adult, I feared seeking counseling to help me heal from my childhood traumas. It took all the bravery I had in myself to find the right person to walk me through the healing process. As a healed adult, I needed courage to found a non-profit to support those in need through music.  My inner braveness was moving me in the right direction, but it wasn't until the amazing human beings, I now am thrilled to say are part of the Board of Directors for Caring Hearts and Voices, cheered me on, and became a wall of support to push me to make this organization happen.

Annie, you are totally right.  When we see bravery it inspires us to be brave.  When my wall of support inspires me to be brave, I feel unstoppable.  Which also means, when I notice someone teetering between braveness and fear, I will be a wall of support.  Let's encourage others to be brave!