None but the Brave

When we think of the word bravery, the most common mental depiction is associated with the kind of action that results in the award of a medal or a public citation of some kind. This is not the kind of bravery I plan to discuss here. Rest assured that I am not talking about myself, but rather, a state of mind that I really want to achieve. I can write about bravery because I have role models, you can't hurt me physically, and, it's my blog anyway.

Medal bravery is that unconscious, spontaneous response to a severe situation in which an ordinary person performs extraordinarily, often at great personal risk, for the life saving benefit of others. The act is even more significant when performed by a layman just going through life when, all of a sudden, he is caught up in great tragedy. Quite often when these people are lauded for their acts of bravely, they accept the recognition with modesty, even a little guilt, because they didn't really think about it, they just acted.

The bravery I am talking about is the kind where you have to think about things and then act. This is a very different character trait, and the one I most admire. Let me 'splane, and I'll use small words.

Virtually no one's life turns out how they expect it to. I'm not sure where we get the picture of what our life is supposed to look like, but I've never heard anyone say, "What a life, it's exactly as I pictured it!" The most unexpected and least wanted turn of events is when injury and chronic pain come into your life, physical or mental, and often times both. The bravery I really admire is where people have to think about the day and times ahead and can visualize the difficulty. However, they bravely face the future and are role models of about every spiritual fruit I can recite.

These people, if they're brave, know tomorrow it's going to hurt, yet they face it anyway. Day after day, step after step is taken, knowing that things may never be better for them, yet they find a way to live an exemplary life. Maybe some of the bravery is muted by simply not trying to get ahead of themselves. Jesus tells us not to fret about tomorrow, it's tough enough today. Maybe no one can withstand the agony of mentally running through every possible scenario and still being able to function. But even if they have a glimpse of the potential difficulty, they act nobly, and this takes guts in my opinion.

These people should be given a medal. They are my heroes.

"O perfect life, be Thou their full assurance of tender charity and steadfast faith, of patient hope, and quite, brave endurance, with child-like trust that fears nor pain nor death."

From the Hymn "O Perfect Love" - Dorothy Gurney 1932