Are You Brave Enough?

As I sat one night going over the activities of the week, I had to ask myself “Am I Brave Enough?” This is a tough question to ask. It depends on the content we are talking about. What had recently happened to me was the publishing of my new kids book ” Rae’s New Shine“. I had created this book that for me, helped me see that I do have worth and that I bring value into the world. What this also created was an opportunity to share my book to the world. Now when I mean the world, I mean my own small little world as well as the internet. That is really a scary thought. It means I am sharing my thoughts with people who know me. It almost seems easier to share with the internet. Don’t get me wrong, the people that know me have been super supportive but it is still putting yourself out there to be loved or criticized. So in light of sharing my book I ultimately had to ask if I was brave enough to share my “baby” with everyone. It is a bit nerve wracking but in the end, to be brave means trying something new and go from there.

Now if I am talking about teaching my teenager to drive, I admit I really wanted to chicken out of it. There were times in which I suggested that she take her dad out too so that she could get a different perspective. Where in reality my nerves needed a break. Eventually I decided that I needed to be brave, I needed to be a cheerleader for her, and I had to teach her what it took to be brave herself. After time, and imaginary breaks being pushed we extended our driving reach from the local high school parking lot to actual streets. It took showing her in a safe spot that she could go about 20 mph and still stop the car if needed. Now if I could just get her to parallel park.

Being brave means saying something to someone that is hard to say. Now a days you have to carefully speak as some people tend to get defensive quicker than others. There are times in which that has to be thrown to the wind and words need to be said. Have you ever met someone that when a conversation is being had there are key words that can completely turn them off from listening? Now most of the time the describes teenagers in general, but what if it is something that is critical to this person’s wellbeing but they refuse to listen. This could be anything from a doctor telling his patient they have to take a certain medication to live comfortably and having them refuse because of fear, to a parent telling their 3 year old to keep all four chair legs on the floor so they don’t fall, and they proceed to fall because they didn’t listen to the warning.

Every day people step out of their homes choosing to be brave. They live with a certain lifestyle that goes against the norm, they are being brave. Someone who looks different from others decides to live a normal life is being brave. A teenager talking to her parents about a hot topic is being brave. To be brave doesn’t mean you don’t have fear. It just means you will walk past that fear constantly and just keep going. We wouldn’t have so many great inventions, conversations, products if the people that started them let fear rule. One thing is for certain, we will all go from this earth one day. While we were here did we choose to be brave or did we chose to live in a state of fear. I hope bravery is a constant in your life. I hope you life and enjoy the ups and downs of life. I hope you love, and love others. Where you brave enough to try? Until next time:

Oh honey, don’t worry about being merely beautiful. Be bold. Be wild. Be strong. Be confident. Be independent & intelligent. Be fierce. Be brave enough to be real in this fake world. Redefine beauty.

Brooke Hampton