The format of a My Take is 150 words – no more, no less – to express an opinion on a different topic each week. This week’s topic was: bravery.
When I was young, I remember being petrified anytime my parents told me bravery was a requisite in a situation.
Maybe it’s because any references to being brave I knew of were extra spectacular super-human displays of greatness. Impossible for a little kid like me.
I didn’t know at the time that the most extraordinary acts of bravery I would witness in my life would not involve burning buildings or car chases or harrowing rescues.
They would be simple words. Gestures. Acts of kindness that taken alone amount to nothing special. But when all was said and done, something felt different. As though with the smallest, softest voice, an enormous weight had been lifted. Or suddenly the power in a room had shifted. And any lingering fears drifted away.
In my opinion, to speak up is to be brave. And more people should do it.
