I have found that true bravery is when you can stare your demise right in the face and say: "I will not give in!" Bravery is in those moments when all the world seems to be cascading down around you, falling, screaming at your feet, and you, breathing with a steady restraint, say "I will not join you this day." Bravery is the instantaneous acceptance and refusal of hell. Bravery is the instant you know you don't know where to look, but you search anyway. Bravery comes when you sit still instead of run away. Bravery means that you look death right in the face and nod; you are equals, he has no power over you. Bravery is a lot of things, but mostly it is what makes a good person great. It is the difference between apathy and epiphany, because you must tread deep waters to know deep truths.
Bravery is silent. Bravery is midnight. Bravery is...it just is. Anyone can have it, but no one can loose it. It is in those liminal moments, the moments before the initiation, before the becoming, before the transformation. Bravery comes to us in pieces, and we must build it. Practice, sweat, tears, hope, look to the northern star. Bravery is of the earth, the air, the sea, the flame. It is born out of the deepest part of ourselves, beyond that which we can explain. Perhaps this is why most people don't have it. Perhaps people fear it because it cannot be explained objectively.
I am brave.
Are you?
