Be Brave, Be You

Reflections from an ever learning sojourner...

Being authentic requires an immense amount of courage!  In this life, we must continually be brave, bold, and courageous in order to be real and true with who we are.  This is not because being who we are is so freaking outrageous, but because being real goes against the status quo, the mainstream, and the socially acceptable. 

Society screams: 

“Be like this to be accepted!”

“Be like this to fit in!”

“Be like this to land the right opportunity or job!” 

“Be like this to seem normal!”

“Be like this to be liked or loved!”

Are we too easily settling for living a pretend version of ourselves in order to fit in or be accepted or deemed as “normal”?  Or are we hiding in a personal prison of constantly feeling like an outcast thinking that who we were created to be can never be enough?

It may seem more acceptable or comfortable to hide behind different personality masks and our electronic devices, but that is not truly living the life we have been given.  That life is a rip off!  It is a life being the walking dead.

Break out of the mold.  
Be brave.  
Be you.  

I wanna see you and me be brave! 

Being authentic breathes life into us and into others.

© MaryAnn Broussard

There’s a beautiful song by Sara Bareilles called Brave.  This song has always touched my heart and inspired me.

"Brave"

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle 'neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be 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, just 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

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence
Won't do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave