To Be Brave

~ Gottfried

Public speaking. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. It is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Bravery not the absence of fear, but the consequence of conquering it. Believe me, it is contagious. When a brave man (me) takes a stand, the spines of others (you) are stiffened. Congratulations, I’ve given you a new lease of life. Now go and conquer that bowl of ice cream. I must warn you though, bravery is only half the victory.

A test. All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking a child into a house with white walls is one of them. To bath a cat takes brute force, perseverance, courage of conviction – and a cat. The last ingredient is usually the hardest to come by. Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like, never washed a dog. So having a pet generally takes a lot of courage. Whether it’s a dog, cat or a baby.

Unprecedented. If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. On one hand, you could end up homeless. On the other hand, you could be moving next door to Chris Rock in Beverly Hills. And if you believe all of this crap, I have a small island to sell to you for $29. I like you. You’re stupid, but very brave.

Potential. You need a backbone, not a wishbone. You’re not necessarily born with bravery, but you’re born with potential. Unfortunately, a few people have eaten theirs. Without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow. If Internet explorer is brave enough to ask you to be your default browser, you’re brave enough to ask that girl out.

Face your fears. Your fears are not walls, but hurdles. Bravery is being the only one who knows your afraid. It’s actually crazy that we only expect bravery from men. Where are the brave women? The only thing women are brave enough to do is cut their hair short and make a documentary out of it. Men fight wars, lift huge items in warehouses and put out fires, but a woman cutting her hair takes the spotlight and shows bravery? Take several seats.

Smile through the pain. When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you still have a thousand reasons to smile. To be brave is to be quiet in the face of danger. It’s a common delusion that you can make things better by talking about them. Yes, I see the robbers too! Of course those guns are loaded, now will you keep quiet before you get both of us killed? Chicken! In life, it’s important to know when to stop arguing with people and simply let them be wrong.

I’m not funny, what I am is brave. Going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. Every week, I write a post that I feel will destroy my legacy and the lofty standards I have set. As I’m about to hit “publish”, I start to get cold feet and sweaty palms. Questions like “What if they don’t like it?” come to mind.Then I remember that I’m Gottfried. And there is none like me. I own you. You will read whatever I serve you, and you will enjoy it!

All hail king Gottfried!

©️ Gottfried. All rights reserved

300 thoughts on “To Be Brave”

      1. that’s a good question. I consider courage a main road, large, with trees, many people walking around (each with its own more or less striking form of courage). the art of giving a different name to things is pervasive and so it can happen that someone calls “bravery” what is not, but which is only a noisy imitation. true courage doesn’t need a lot of hype. fake courage, on the other hand, needs a lot of noise to attest to the courage of a gesture in front of everyone.
        having said that, I repeat that I have seen a lot of fake courage.
        the real one is less noisy and is almost always feminine.

        Liked by 9 people

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      1. You just did slander them! I feel sorry for you if that’s been your experience of women, though I doubt highly your characterization is accurate. You’ve led a pretty sad life if that’s your observation. My grandmother raised her son alone after her husband died at 35 of Hodgkinson’s disease. She survived cancer three times herself. She pulled down a full time job at White Chapel Cemetery, was one of the first women to EVER graduate from University of Michigan (though her theater major didn’t help a lot when her husband died), and people came to her for marriage counseling. She took care of people when they were dying and was such a saint young men my age who loved to talk to her CRIED when she died, her neighbors. Someone left her a house because she was so amazing. She never managed to find anyone else in her life and you never heard her complain. You have NO IDEA what bravery is.

        Liked by 4 people

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  4. Sure it will be so! The vein is that, but every time there is something that pushes me to laugh even reading, which I can only do with great novels or sharp satire.

    Liked by 11 people

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  5. I remember a phrase from a movie-

    “To be the best is to willingly do what others aren’t willing to do”….

    Why will you liken a baby to a pet (jaw dropper).

    Well, I enjoyed every piece penned.

    Liked by 11 people

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      1. Yeeah. That’s the only way to be identified or distinguished. There are over billion of creatures both identified and UFOs. Breaking grounds is just how to stand out.

        She even brought gymnastics to limelight and almost everyone’s attention.

        Dang! I see you having lot of them.😁

        Liked by 6 people

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          1. Lol….
            It’s best to prepare for the best. I like that. So, better start believing there are UFOs.

            She really is . I love the whole attention she’s getting. It’s just annoying she is being bullied(can’t get the right word) by those gymnastic governing bodies. I saw her interview about them.

            Lol…The Big man is probably laughing in swahili

            Liked by 5 people

          3. Let’s break into NASA then…

            Very ridiculous. I am just glad that in all, she is still enjoying what she does

            You’re lying…we are created in his image. You and I laugh right? Then you say he doesn’t..Taaaah! He does.

            Liked by 6 people

  10. Yeah! Yeah! You’re the messiah!

    The messiah of putting a smile on everyone’s face.

    And worry not, the day your post doesn’t stand up to the standards you’ve set, will be the day I’ll interrupt you myself.
    One more thing, GOOGLE already owns us.

    Liked by 9 people

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