VOGUE // JUNE 2013 // PG 89
In the pages of her book, she has sought out and compiled stories
of the world’s most courageous people triggered by her own timid soul. She told
Vogue: “I was underequipped in the courage department…little by little I
realised how much I’d love to be brave, or at least a little bit braver."
It got me
deliberating the subject myself.
My mind automatically deems courage an act of extreme
bravery or action; something life threatening, transforming or with high levels
of risk. This is still true and I can’t begin to imagine what depths the
courage arises from to tackle such feats. Then there’s
also the self-imposed courage it takes to throw yourself out of a plane or swim
with sharks which is again triumphant.
BRAVE:
ready to face and
endure danger or pain; showing courage
a young man
who shows courage or fighting spirit.
endure or
face unpleasant conditions or behaviour without showing fear
However, I also believe courage seeps into the everyday too.
As well as the generally confirmed forms of valour, there can also be an
extremely personal level of bravery. A single step outside your comfort zone
can take a tremendous amount of bravery. Traits such as speaking your mind and
standing up for yourself take bravery. Snap, spontaneous decisions, take
bravery. Sometimes, with events such as the
monstrosity in Woolwich not to mention global sufferings, it can feel brave to
even leave the house on a daily basis.
Yet avoiding being brave can leave you stuck in your
mousehole. In her article, Polly said: “Fear turned out to be absolutely
central to their mettle, the intuitive bedrock from which their bravery
sprang.” We’ve all heard those vacant inspirational phrases such as ‘do
something everyday that your scared of’ alongside the ‘YOLOs’ but maybe there’s
a whiff of sense amongst those treacly words. Is it fear that forces us out of
the safety zone into a more fulfilled life?
As also mentioned, it seems this craving for bravery in such
an unstable environment has triggered a reaction on the fashion front too. Loud
prints, bright colours, bold ensembles and ‘crazy’ designs could all be deemed
as ‘brave’ by the wearers. Statement style evokes individual strength and
fearlessness and defies mass conformity and in the end, is vital to the future
of the industry.
“I’ve learnt that it’s in looking and thinking beyond your
own bubble, your own immediate comfort, that courage starts to grow,” Polly
said, words my own timid soul and I will be taking heed of.
Polly Morland’s book, The Society of Timid Souls – the namesake of which was a group for
stage-frightened wartime performers on the Upper West Side, is now downloaded
onto my iPad and top of my reading list.
How would you define bravery? Who would you classify as brave and why? Is it important to be brave?
