The Most Brave

What do these actions all have in common?

To surrender

To admit defeat

To admit that you’re scared

To avoid the risk

To call for help

Aren’t they all heavily-associated with cowardice? And in a world where the brave are esteemed highly, engaging in such actions proves to be a proverbial suicide. The brave may not live long but the cautious does not live at all, as a saying goes.

Before this entry becomes an assault of supposedly cowardly actions, I would like you to clear your mind first of any prejudice against these actions and any person/s you’ve branded as a coward. Closed-mindedness reflects cowardice too, you know. But that’s another entry altogether.

Seemingly cowardly actions do not always equate to cowardice. Matter of fact, they sometimes display a brand of bravery we often most overlook. Being brave doesn’t only include facing things head on, being afraid of nothing, taking the risk or doing things chivalrously alone. It also includes surrendering when it’s the most appropriate thing to do and admitting to your own shortcomings.

Sometimes, the bravest thing to do is to admit defeat or fear. Such action doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a coward. It just means that you know that it’s the best course of action to take.

The most brave are those who know that they are human. They are well-aware of their weaknesses and need for others and know that not all battles could be won. They are not afraid of fear, defeat and support. They even embrace their being human and use their experience to have a better grasp of what bravery entails.

Thus, the brave, despite occasional admittance of fear and defeat, do live long while the coward, who believes himself as brave, may not live long and does not live at all.