I am writing a book. There, I said it.  I’ve told lots of people in my life but I haven’t announced it to my “world” yet.  The book is about being brave.  It’s a how-to manual.  How to find your brave.

Brave doesn’t look the same for everyone.  But I believe everyone has brave in them.  

To me, being brave means being willing to sit with the most hurt parts of you.  Those pieces of you that to this date have been too scared to come forward to show you who they are.  The ones that hide behind rage and animosity.  The feral parts of you that have been ignored for too long.

Bravery is sitting with those feelings of rage and animosity without letting them consume you.  Or sitting in a conversation where someone is pouring themselves out in front of you and you don’t shy away from their pain or discomfort.  Bravery is being willing to feel the amount of love that surrounds you without running away because you don’t feel worthy of receiving it all.

And my God, brave takes patience and courage and empathy.  Things I had to learn through trial and error.  Learned by standing up and questioning the beliefs that were passed down to me.

So I’d like to challenge Webster’s definition that to be brave means to “endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behavior) without showing fear.”  I’d like to make it sound a little more pleasant.

What if we allow the conditions or behavior that arise while showing compassion and empathy?  It sounds a lot less masculine and a whole lot more brave to me but I guess no one asked.