Living With Wheels

Self Image

'Bravery'

I find being called 'brave' (as in "I think you're brave to go shopping on your own") very irritating. I am not brave. I am merely doing what the majority of adults who live alone do. It may be that I have a longer route to traverse because of my physical limitations - but that is me!

A 'brave' person, to me, is someone who, for example, goes out as part of a Mountain Rescue Team to find a mountaineer who has got into trouble in appalling weather conditions. That person is potentially risking their own existence to help to rescue someone else.

I find the word 'brave' is more often than not used interchangeably with 'courage' and although the two words have very similar meanings, there is a difference.

Brave means: (1) having or displaying courage; resolution or daring: (2) to dare or defy: (3) to confront with resolution or courage §
Courage means: (1) the power or quality of dealing with or facing danger: (2) the confidence to act in accordance with one's beliefs §

Using these definitions, I am prepared to admit that to some people, I seem to have 'courage', but as far as I'm concerned, I am just getting on with my ordinary life. I do not consider I am risking my existence when I go shopping!

§ Definitions taken from The Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus in One Volume, 1987