I would rather be courageous than be afraid (#2049)

You know it's is a choice right? Being a coward or afraid is not some genetic marker in our DNA passed down from generation to generation. We choose to be either one. Now don't mistake fear with being a coward. Fear is the warning sign that something bad is at hand. What we do with our fear and the information we have about whatever bad is about to happen is our choice. We can either confront our fear and stand against it's threat or we can succumb to our fear and allow ourselves to be controlled by it. I for one am not of the type who let's being afraid, be his guide. I actually enjoy confronting fear in an odd way in that I dare fear to challenge me. I see myself as nothing more than a product of what I think and feel. If I cannot defend myself then surely I cannot defend anything else beyond me. It is my nature to live my life as a free human being, untethered from control by others. Now I am not perfectly free because I live in a society that has rules but I am not beholden to anyone who would force me to act and think outside my own principles. I have taken the time to establish the good I want to reflect out to others and I will not compromise those principles. Which is where the fear comes in. Oftentimes others will try to intimidate or force me to act or react to a situation that they can then control. I refuse to play along despite real consequences of harm and/or discomfort to myself. I am always willing to sacrifice my personal property or ambition if it conflicts with my much more precious principles. Yes, I value who I am as a person more than I value commodity or property. I am simple that way and in that simplicity I find a reassuring peace. I also find a happiness and self-respect that is much more enjoyable an attribute that any material possession may hope to accomplish. We must all find peace within our lives and if it means fighting a constant war with others then so be it. Hopefully after a few rounds others will see that fighting against our will to be heroic is pointless.