Thursday, May 1, 2014

Lessons learned this year: COURAGE

So something I've been thinking about a lot this past year, is courage.

It sounds a bit random at first.
We all want to be brave.
We all want the sorting hat to yell 'Griffindor!' as it touches our heads.
We all wish we were the ones to say 'Dauntless' on our choosing day.
We all want to believe we'd jump out of airplanes and dive to the bottom of the ocean, and that we wouldn't be afraid.
None of us want fear to hold us back.
None of us want to be weak, or afraid, or left behind.
And when the time comes, none of us want to look back to see a life that we haven't lived.

But what is living?
Is living jumping out of airplanes?

I never considered myself to be brave.
I'm the girl who always wishes she'd brought an extra minute with her to the doctors office, so she could be just a little bit more ready for the needle.
The one who evacuates buildings when she sees a spider and triple checks all the locks in the house before going to sleep.
I'm the girl who wishes she were built for airplanes.
But maybe I'm not,
And maybe I never will be.

Maybe it doesn't matter.

Because courage is not just about facing fears for the sake of the self.
True courage, at least from my point of view, comes from a place much deeper than that.
A place where those I love can live.
A place where my love for those around me drives me to be a better person.
The kind of person who pushes herself, makes good choices, stands up for what she believes in and when something is important, never ever walks away.
No matter how scary these things can be.
Because it's not just about me.

It's a wonderful thing to push your own boundaries for personal growth.
But to push our boundaries for each other, for humanity and so we can be the best people possible for the sake of the world that we live in.
That's brave.

Every time you make a difficult decision, the best way you know how...
Every time you reach out to someone, even though you yourself need reaching for...
Every time you speak your mind to a room full of strangers...
Every time you reach into your back pocket and give that extra minute you've been saving away...
Every time you let go of something that's been holding you back...
And or some people, simply taking those first few steps out their front door..
We turn to the world, and again we are brave.

This is love, 
And to love is an incredibly brave thing to do.

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