Sometimes bravery looks a lot less like jumping out of an airplane or rescuing someone you love. Sometimes bravery looks a little like being unseen. To step back when you want to step in. Putting aside your desire to control and letting things go. Bravery for me was allowing myself to come undone when everything inside screamed to hold it all together.
One of the bravest things I’ve ever done is ask for help. Not just to perform a task or hitching a ride, but asking someone else to step inside my mind and help me find healing. One of the most courageous things one can do is step into and through the pain of the past in order to move onto the present & future possibilities. A lot of times this is recollecting old wounds and revisiting hurtful memories. It doesn’t mean you have to drag everyone else down with you but it might mean asking those closest to you to walk beside you. Find those that listen more and talk less, those who will sit in the silence with you and love you through those dark moments. Courageously forging through a garden of weeds when your mind wants to move onto a perfectly plotted garden. Instead of living inside Instagram photos and Pinterest pins, lets look outside our windows and put the shovel to the dirt and see what’s really buried underneath. It takes grit. It’s dirty. It’s not easy in most ways. There’s something freeing about digging up dirt, flinging it aside, and turning over fresh soil that’s teeming with life, energy, and sustenance for new growth.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is sit down in a chair and spill your guts out to someone who can wisely guide you through what’s weighing you down and holding you back so you can face tomorrow. You may lose friends. Your family could turn against you. It gets harder before it gets better. Like any transformation, it’ll take time and effort. If you can courageously face your inner turmoil, you can escape the prison cell of pain and experience a new found hope and peace. Sometimes it takes losing yourself to gain what’s needed to be truly you. You will have to sacrifice something somewhere. The old parts of you will die. In the death of you, the resurrection of self-awareness and beauty of healing, what was once your biggest fear, will be the best part of you that outshines any facade you’ve ever worn. So go ahead and sit down. You were born to be brave.