Fight like a Brave

Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
 -Sara Bareilles, "Brave"

Last Sunday night, on the eve of the first anniversary of the formation of the Island of Misfit Toys (a whole year . . . wow), I attended a very thought-provoking fireside. And no, I'm not going to go into details here about the oddly titled book many of you have already seen a photo of me posing with on Facebook, something that was used as a prop by one of the speakers in this fireside.

One of the more-interesting points, at least to yours truly, was a brief discussion about the word: brave. And, in this context, I do not refer to my high school mascot, the Bountiful Brave.

Being brave and dating? They really go hand in hand?

Certainly they do, according to the speaker. You have to be brave to approach new people, strike up a conversation of some sort, and get to know them, something to precedes dating. And you have to be brave to call (not text) them on the phone to ask for a date in the first place.

But you also need to be brave when overcoming and bouncing back from fear and rejection. It's a sign of bravery to face rejection time and time again, to feel discouraged with the whole rotten process, like we all do now and then, and then to dust yourself off, to pick yourself up, and to keep on trying in the dating scene.

Cowardice never won over anyone else. Faint heart never won fair lady, according to the saying. Further, said the speaker, acting cowardly is not attractive, either. Being brave doesn't entail the absence of fear but, rather, acting and moving forward in spite of the fear that nags and pesters.