I am BRAVE.
I am BRAVE.
"I think I am brave because..." (you fill in the blank). Is it any wonder that the word brave is in BeReAVEd? You can do hard things. You're already doing it.
Take the opportunity today to tell yourself how proud you are to be able to face another day without your loved ones here. No, you didn't ask to be this BRAVE… but, my goodness, you are! Do you know this?
In a world where grief is an unwelcome companion, it takes a special kind of courage to keep moving forward. Life after loss is not about returning to how things were, but about navigating uncharted waters with a heart that now carries both love and pain. Choosing healing—day by day, moment by moment—is one of the most beautiful kinds of brave I know.
What Does It Mean to Show Up for Healing?
Showing up doesn’t mean pretending everything is okay. It means allowing yourself to experience the full spectrum of emotions: sadness, anger, guilt, joy, and everything in between. It’s saying “yes” to feeling deeply, even when that feels like the harder option.
Showing up means choosing to live—not merely survive.
Showing up is deciding to face the messy, unpredictable nature of grief.
Showing up means seeking community, asking for help, and receiving love even when you feel undeserving.
Healing doesn’t happen in grand gestures but in the little choices you make each day. It's getting out of bed, joining a friend for coffee, or engaging in something that once brought you joy. These moments don’t erase the pain—they coexist with it.
Choosing into Healing Doesn’t Mean You’re 'Over It'
Grief isn’t something you conquer or move beyond. It’s a lifelong companion that ebbs and flows, sometimes catching you off guard with its intensity. Choosing into healing isn’t about “fixing” yourself or your broken heart—it’s about embracing life alongside your grief.
There is BRAVE-ry in the decision to live fully again, to welcome new memories while still holding space for the old. This choice requires vulnerability, and vulnerability is never easy. But in the moments when you choose healing, no matter how small, you honor both your love and your loss.
Healing in the Presence of Community
One of the most powerful aspects of healing is finding others who understand—those who can hold space for your grief without rushing you through it. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or a group of people walking the same path, choosing healing becomes more manageable when it’s shared.
It’s in these connections that the light begins to peek through the darkness. The reminder that you are not alone can be the spark that keeps you going. As you walk through grief, healing becomes an ongoing, evolving experience—not a destination.
The Brave Choice to Show Up Again and Again
Grief will invite you to stay stuck. It will tell you that staying in the shadows is safer, easier, and more predictable. But choosing healing is an act of defiance. It’s a declaration that love is still worth living for, even when it hurts.
Every time you show up for yourself, you prove that healing isn't about arriving somewhere perfect—it’s about becoming. Becoming someone who holds love and loss with tenderness. Becoming someone who knows that bravery looks like tears, hard conversations, and trying again tomorrow.
If you find yourself in a place where healing feels far away, know this: Choosing healing today—however imperfectly—is an extraordinary kind of brave. And that choice, no matter how small, is beautiful beyond measure.
It is a true privilege to hold space for so many beautiful human souls as we facilitate opportunities to gather together to acknowledge our love and loss, but also just how courageous we are.
We are all BRAVE! And that is something to recognize.
Now, change the “I think” from the very first sentence of this article to “I know I am BRAVE because..." Say it out loud, over and over, until you feel it. Can you feel how BRAVE you are?
Then, change the “I know” to "I feel I am BRAVE because..." Repeat this once again, out loud to yourself repeatedly until you embody it, until you become it. And finally, change the “I feel” to "I am BRAVE because..."
Living and grieving. BeReAVEd and BRAVE. We are all doing it… daily.
