Scared? Life is ready to make you brave.

All of life is bravery practice

I thought of that when I took on the Catholic Church in my latest column in the Cleveland Jewish News. Guilt, shame and fear are still a bit of the leftover legacy from the Church.

There was a lot to love about being Catholic, and I do love the best parts in my soul, the mystics, saints and seekers.

But sometimes you have to speak truth to power. It’s scary, even for a journalist. It can rattle your soul a bit.

My dear friend, Kevin Conroy, who happens to be a Catholic priest working with the poor in Cambodia, gave me my mission as a journalist:

Your job is to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable.

Maybe that’s everyone’s job. Let me warn you, the comfortable do NOT like being disturbed. But do it anyway.

Bravery comes in many forms. When I got my shots at CVS, the pharmacist thought I was nuts to get all three in one arm. I can’t do the other arm, having had lymph nodes removed during cancer treatment.

After he was done I asked, “Do I at least get a lollipop?” No lollipops, but he did give me a unicorn sticker that said I AM BRAVE.

Aren’t we all?

Braver than we know.

Maybe you need to remind yourself how brave you are. Me? I’ve been brave enough to survive 10 siblings, give birth, be a single mom for 18 years, work as an EMT, pick up dead bodies for a funeral home, go through chemo, radiation and have both breasts removed with no reconstruction. I call myself flat, fearless and fabulous.

This week, take a look back over your life. When were you brave?

Take a walk through your life and make a list of all the times. Jot them down on little pieces of paper. Start a bravery jar. Pull them out when you need a boost of bravery.

Remind yourself how strong you once were and still are.

My friend Ro Eugene used to tell me, “Life is hard, but you can do hard.” She also said, “It’s not impossible, it’s just life.”

Life…wanting to make your stronger!

#BeBrave #Courage #BraveryPractice #CJN