TODAY, DO ONE BRAVE THING….
THEN RUN LIKE HECK…..

I don’t consider myself a brave man. Even spending a year in Vietnam failed to do it. I was there for a reason, somewhat like I’m here for a reason. It was a job, a duty, a place to be for a period of time in my life.

Taking on certain tasks in life don’t make me feel brave either. Sometimes, following some daring feat, I look back and would, perhaps, consider it as being “stupid”, but never brave.

I believe that the brave were ordinary people, placed in a position of responsibility that, under extreme circumstances, caused them to rise to the top instead of cutting and running. In certain situations, where bravery is required we could find ourselves doing things that, even we don’t understand. Sometimes the mind becomes cloudy and the adrenal gland kicks in causing a reaction that amazes the best of us! Next thing we know, someone is patting us on the back and saying what a brave thing you did!

Looking back on my life, I can’t actually think of one brave thing I did. In Vietnam, I was awarded 4 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. I found out that the DFC is the 8th medal from the top in the rank of importance. But what I did to receive that was ordinary work that I did everyday. It wasn’t like saving a child from the mouth of a Lion or the claws of a Bear. I never jumped into the semi-frozen river to rescue a drowning victim. I never foiled a kidnapping attempt or tackled a shooter bent on killing innocent people. I never rescued anyone from the path of an oncoming car or truck. I never saved any comrades under enemy fire or rescued a distressed child in a burning building.

I believe that most of us are in the category of doing non-brave things; going about our lives, being ordinary, sometimes being stupid, yet remaining outside the spotlight, doing our thing that we call “normal”. I do love to hear about brave things that people do. Like the lady in the news around here a few weeks ago…..

A woman, a nurse, returning home from work, at night, walked into her house and was confronted by a man with a hammer, bent on using it on her head, I suppose. Apparently, the woman’s husband had hired this man to kill his wife. However, she desperately fought back and ended up strangling the man.

It’s interesting how adrenaline can kick in so powerfully that it enables us to become stronger, braver and better than a normal person. The killer became the killed in this case. It seems like a brave thing to me, but on the other hand, she was fighting for her life; thrust into a position of doing something beyond the ordinary.

Perhaps YOU have been thrust into the “bravery spotlight” in your life. I, for one, enjoy hearing about those things. I also believe you deserve a medal.