Worry And Bravery

Go Hand in Hand

They travel together. They co-exist. And perhaps they are even necessary friends because maybe a person cannot be brave without first being worried or even downright scared.

I finally gathered up the courage I needed to participate in my first phone banking last night. I volunteered through the Environmental Voter Project, a non partisan group that encourages people to vote (registered but infrequent voters identified through public records) who have shown past interest for any of a variety of environmental issues. This phone call was to remind people about an upcoming special election that is for a run off for the state senate in Texas.

I hope I’ll be more confident for the next session I’m signed up to do.

Technically it was super easy. All is done with their software via my laptop. I made it through the full session without quitting, although I thought about doing so!

My 5 year old grandson is learning that you can be worried and be brave at the same time, indeed as I mentioned above, maybe being worried (even scared) is required in order to be brave.

So I channeled his worries and his bravery when doing anything new into my own new-to-me and scary way of helping to defend our democracy. Whew! 🌎✌️

I’m sharing a heavily cropped photo of an eastern screech owl (so it might be little blurry) that took shelter from the frigid temperatures and winds by roosting under our deck this week while also being somewhat camouflaged by the stonework on the walls. Is it worried? Is it brave? Is it just reserving energy in this sheltered spot for its nighttime flights for food? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I found some lovely quotes about birds that help us think through and respond to our own tough situations:

1. “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” — Maya Angelou (Celebrating the courage to express oneself.)

2. “The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly.” — Unknown
   (Highlighting bravery through risk and growth.)

3. “You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren.” — William Henry Hudson
   (Encouraging boldness to rise above limitations.)

4. “Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.” — Unknown (often associated with birds or animals symbolizing strength)
   (A fierce declaration of resilience and bravery.)

5. “Be like a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.” — Victor Hugo
   (Trusting in your inner strength despite uncertainty.)

6. “Birds teach us something very important: to have courage and keep going, even when the winds are strong.” — Unknown

7. “The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” — J.M. Barrie

Any one of those quotes is perfect. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I will choose the simplest one: “Birds teach us something very important: to have courage and keep going, even when the winds are strong.” — Unknown

Let’s cultivate our life and our future together, my friends, with both worry and courage to keep going, even now, especially now, when the winds are strong.

Diana Dyer