Bravery Requires Fear!
A student asked, “Master, how can a man be brave if he is scared?” The Master replied, “That is the only time he can be brave.” Many people misunderstand the concept of bravery. They believe that those who are brave and courageous have no fear. Several years back, the slogan, “No Fear” could be seen on bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc. It was a very popular saying, although it was untrue for all but the most mentally disturbed. Every sane individual has some sort of fear at some time in his life; that is just human nature.
Furthermore, no man can be courageous or brave unless he has some degree of fear concerning what he is doing. Bravery requires fear! You can only be brave in the face of fear; if there is no fear present, then there is no such thing as bravery at that moment. Do you feel that you are brave when you go outside and mow your lawn or make a trip to the grocery store? Of course not, because you have no fear of doing those things. The only time someone can be courageous or brave is when he or she is scared. Bravery and courage never occur when fear is absent, but rather in the face of fear.
The coward is ruled by his fear; the warrior overcomes his fear. The warrior braces himself and masters his fear because he understands that there are things which are more important than fear. Mark Twain put it this way, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.”
How do you develop the courage to master your fear? Fear is mastered by mentally deciding that something outside yourself is more important than your fear or your guaranteed safety. For example, let’s say that you are hiking in the mountain with your family and a large mountain lion starts aggressively rushing toward your children. It is normal to be afraid of an attacking mountain lion, but the courageous person, seeing his children in danger, would overcome the fear and the concern for his own safety, and do his best to fight off the lion and save his children. He does this because he puts the safety of his children above his own safety.
There are many examples of bravery in action, and they all have one thing in common – the brave man puts some person, ideal, or thing above his own personal safety. Another example would be if you saw a couple of thugs on the street assaulting a helpless man or woman. We have all seen the videos of people who just stand by and watch, or even worse, video the assault, without attempting to intervene. People who stand by and watch as something like this happens are cowards. They allow fear and apathy to overcome their sense of what’s right.
The warrior, on the other hand, would never consider watching such an event without intervening, knowing full well that the attackers will most likely turn on him if he gets involved. He is not deterred by the fear of what might happen to him; he is moved by his honor and what is right. He intervenes even though he knows it will disrupt his day and that he could be injured or even killed. How does he overcome his fear or hesitation in this situation? Because his honor and doing what’s right is more important to him than the fear of what may happen.
Bravery always requires fear and the act of putting something ahead of your own safety. This is one of the ideals that make someone a true warrior. When life gives you a choice of standing up for what’s right or cowering down to ensure your own safety, choose to be brave and do what’s right. Warrior up!
