Courage And Words

There are different kinds of brave, and different kinds of courage. There's the courage to get up in front of people, and to talk, or to sing or to share. There's the courage to get things done. There's the courage to ask people for things, like money. There's the courage to tell people the way things are - or should be. There's the courage to tell a friend that he/she is stupid.

The only way I'll get up in front of people and sing - even Karaoke - is if I'm drunk, I'm pretty sure. I don't know this from experience, it's just a hunch. It's something I would want to do - something I would love to do, really, I just can't do it. That's why I think that if I hadn't any inhibitions I could do it.

Mike doesn't get that. For him, singing in front of people is no problem. I was trying to explain to him why I can't, and he said, "Just watch me, you just get up and do it. It doesn't take courage." His best friend, Adam, understood better, and while we were both listening to Mike sing, said, "He'll never understand that, Robin. He just won't." So true.

I don't have the type of courage to call out a friend, either. I can gripe and complain all I want, but when it actually comes down to it, I won't do anything. I won't try to change it. I'll think about it for sure, but thinking is different than doing.

People talk talk talk talk talk about how things should be different, about how they should be better. But I've noticed something about people. Oftentimes, the ones doing all the talking, the ones who are so passionate about getting others motivated, don't do anything themselves - and oftentimes, they never will.

I think that's a different kind of brave. I think that having the courage to realize something is wrong and working to change that is one of the best kinds of brave, one of the best types of courage. Especially when that work goes unspoken.