Bloganuary: How are you brave?
My first reaction to this prompt was: I’m not.
Then I thought of caring for my mom these past few years. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wasn’t sure I could do it. (I’m including my time in the Army and deploying to a combat zone in that calculation. Hands down, 2022 was one of the hardest years of my life.)
And I think that’s maybe what bravery is. Doing—or attempting to do—the thing you think you can’t do. And like small acts of kindness, I believe small acts of bravery are important.
Creating a blog and putting your words and voice into the world for the first (or tenth) time? That’s brave.
Confronting FOMO and deleting all social media apps on your phone so you can focus on what you want to do? That’s brave.
Starting a novel? Picking one back up? Painting a picture when you haven’t held a paintbrush since elementary school? Baking a cake from scratch?
Creating something—anything—and offering it to others with a:
Here, I made this. I hope you like it.
That’s brave.
Because maybe they won’t like it.
But I’m pretty sure someone will. It may take a while to find that someone. The catch is you must be generous first, offering up your talents, your time, your attention—offering that up without the promise of a return.
That’s brave.
Writing Wrongs 