Ellie Lieberman's Blog: Dusty Shelves - Posts Tagged "bravery"
Being Brave
When I’m not writing or working on my business, I wear a neon orange vest and am the official shoe tie-er, whistle-blower, referee, nurse-referal writer, and hand raised- answerer of an elementary school playground and lunchroom. For three hours I stand in the blazing sun and try not to think about the questionable substance I just stepped in on the cafeteria’s floor. In the midst of the laughter, shouting, whistles, and bells was a little girl in tears.
Something was going on at home, she missed her mom, she was lonely, and the only thing that helped was holding my hand as she walked with me around the playground and she sat with me at lunch. By the second day, first recess went a lot better. She didn’t have to hold my hand as much, she was jumping up and down, and was talkative with no tears. Come lunch, it was right back to square one. When I asked what happened, she answered with a sniffle, a shrug, and told me, “I’m trying to be brave, but it’s hard.”
And who hasn’t been there? Whether it is something inside you, a relationship with someone, or trying to publish that new book. We need someone’s hand to hold, someone to sit with us, because it is hard. It’s hard to be brave enough to face the challenges, let alone attempt to conquer them.
But, a wise person once said, “Being brave is not the absence of fear, but being afraid and doing it anyway.” What is braver than that little first grader still sitting there at that table with me? Still coming to school the next day? Still trying? What is braver than the person with anxiety making a new stride in their development to overcome? What is braver than the person who has had their heart broken before, but dares to try to love and trust again? What is braver than the writer who wrote that book, and then shares it with the world?
To bare your heart and soul, to walk naked in front of the crowd, to put pen to paper, makes you no less brave. To feel uncertain and nervous and somewhere between the excited butterflies and raccoon claws in your stomach, but still pushing forward, still hitting publish or submit is the definition of brave! It is hard and it will hurt. It’s a part of growing. And, as Amy Bishop says in Society's Foundlings, “It’s not supposed to be easy. Anything that’s anything is always hard.”
Something was going on at home, she missed her mom, she was lonely, and the only thing that helped was holding my hand as she walked with me around the playground and she sat with me at lunch. By the second day, first recess went a lot better. She didn’t have to hold my hand as much, she was jumping up and down, and was talkative with no tears. Come lunch, it was right back to square one. When I asked what happened, she answered with a sniffle, a shrug, and told me, “I’m trying to be brave, but it’s hard.”
And who hasn’t been there? Whether it is something inside you, a relationship with someone, or trying to publish that new book. We need someone’s hand to hold, someone to sit with us, because it is hard. It’s hard to be brave enough to face the challenges, let alone attempt to conquer them.
But, a wise person once said, “Being brave is not the absence of fear, but being afraid and doing it anyway.” What is braver than that little first grader still sitting there at that table with me? Still coming to school the next day? Still trying? What is braver than the person with anxiety making a new stride in their development to overcome? What is braver than the person who has had their heart broken before, but dares to try to love and trust again? What is braver than the writer who wrote that book, and then shares it with the world?
To bare your heart and soul, to walk naked in front of the crowd, to put pen to paper, makes you no less brave. To feel uncertain and nervous and somewhere between the excited butterflies and raccoon claws in your stomach, but still pushing forward, still hitting publish or submit is the definition of brave! It is hard and it will hurt. It’s a part of growing. And, as Amy Bishop says in Society's Foundlings, “It’s not supposed to be easy. Anything that’s anything is always hard.”
