Bravery Has Many Faces
When Queen Victoria directed the creation of the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry, the original design carried the words “For the Brave”. She had that changed to “For Valour”. In her estimation, any man who went into battle was brave.
Until I read that story while researching about the Victoria Cross, I had always thought of bravery as the ultimate display of courage or daring. Bravery comes in many forms.
I agree with Queen Victoria, any who venture into battle are indeed brave. That doesn’t mean they don’t feel fearful, they do what they believe must be done. In less enlightened times, soldiers who became overwhelmed by battle and broke were considered to be cowards. They were executed. Today, we understand this as PTSD or ‘operational stress injury’.
On 9/11 I hadn’t been listening to the news. A business caller mentioned to me almost in passing that ‘some idiot flew a plane into a tower in New York’. I thought he meant a small plane and didn’t give it much notice figuring I’d see the report when I checked news sites later.
A short while later my parish priest called in tears. He’d heard a report that over 200 firemen had entered the towers and none had been heard from since. It was then that I realized something huge was going on. Those fireman had indeed displayed bravery.
First responders -- police, fire, ambulance etc do this every day. They rush into situations to serve and protect the rest of us. We tend to take their everyday bravery for granted. It makes them no less brave.
People who stand up to bullying of any kind are brave. While most bullies are cowards at heart, they can generate a mob rule that could turn on anyone who dares to stand up to the bully.
We’re seeing bullying at all levels of our social structure including so called leaders of government. I wonder if the day will come that enough people who can influence outcomes will have the courage and fortitude to stand up to those bullies. When we’re led by political bullies, we tend to forget that bullying is wrong.
Women who speak up and expose the actions of abusers are brave. They know they are taking a chance of not being believed and subjected to public scorn. They also take the chance that an abuser may retaliate physically. Men and boys who speak out about being abused or assaulted are also brave. With the perception that males are perpetrators not victims of abuse, they are often mocked for speaking up.
Bravery is often displayed in a spontaneous manner. There is a something that needs doing and people react. They don’t think about consequences until later. Like the person who snatches a child out of the way of a speeding car. It’s not until later the person even considers they both may have been killed had the timing been different.
Not all bravery is witnessed. When a person is dealing with personal challenges, what seems like a normal act for most becomes an act of bravery for that person. For example, an agoraphobic person has to muster up courage to even walk out the door of their home. When they venture into crowds and unfamiliar spaces it takes determination and bravery to accomplish that.
Do we ever stop to think about the many acts of bravery which happen around us every day? We notice the big ones, we miss the little ones but they are all acts of bravery for the person involved.
Until Next Time — Just Steem on
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You are right. I see little acts of courage often, and most of them I don't even know.
John Wayne (or more correctly a character played by John Wayne) said "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway."
Yes! Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the strength to do it anyway. Like the JW quote. Fabulous post!
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You hit the nail on the head!!!
so many faces of bravery go unnoticed by a person in themselves and others around them.
I love when you write your 'Buddyup' posts. They are always very thought provoking.
thanks Snook, I really should write more like this but always seem to set it aside for other things. The Drop In the Ocean pushes me to actually do them.
It's true! hehehe having a reason to write this way is so refreshing! I love DITO too :) and i love the little group that is forming there to share their hearts each week! Glad that you became part of it!
This is so true. Bravery takes many forms, many of which are not necessarily visible or noticeable to the casual bystander. We never know what anyone else has been through or experienced, that could make the most seemingly trivial action a huge step of internal bravery and fortitude.
totally, the outer face very often truly masks what is going on inside. Sometimes you can catch a hint in the eyes.
Exactly, not everyone wants others to know about their own struggles...
So true, @shadowspub It's an important time in history for bravery both personally and socially along with a lot of inner reflection.
Totally agree. Bravery can be about admitting you're wrong, or facing up to the illness of a close relative. Or refusing to fight. Acts like that can be more scary than a physical challenge that you're trained to do.
yes they can be... even facing up to your own personal illness, physical or emotional, can be a frightening experiencing and takes courage to do so.
It sure is @bigtom13 acting to get the job done and worry later about what could have happened. Worrying in advance is paralysis
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Really hit home there when you said about getting the job done and worrying later, I spend far to much time procrastinating with the what if's rather then just doing it and seeing the end result.
I think I got why ulogs are a good thing now.
what ifs can be in creating a plan but it reaches a point where you need to either keep doing the what ifs or get going and figure it out as you go.
Ulogs are a great way for those unsure about their writing to gain some confidence.
this was lovely and interestingly my very own train of thought. 9/11 and my experience there as well as bullying. ive been dealing with a but of ptsd from bullying at work and its happened in two situations. steemit has been my therapy but doesnt cure that when i think about going back into an office atmosphere i get anxiety. yes bravery comes in all forms and youve written this beautifully.
thank you for that
This is a fabulous musing on the topic of bravery. You have found bravery existing on many levels which the average person does not see. Bravo for your insight and sensitivity, and here's hoping it rubs-off on more people!