Courage Is Not the Absence of Fear. It Is the Refusal to Live Small.

Fear is having a moment in America. It decides who people trust, who they hate, who they vote for, and who they avoid at the grocery store. It sells headlines and poisons conversations. It convinces us that safety comes from shrinking our world instead of expanding our understanding.But my life has never been small enough for that.I have prayed beside Christians and shared quiet reflection with Buddhists. I have listened to atheists who believe in the dignity of people and Muslims who believe in the discipline of peace.

I have spent time with billionaires who fly private and with the houseless who carry their entire world in a single backpack. I have lived in cities lit by neon and in college towns where the loudest sound is an old air conditioner turning on. I have lived where it rains every day and where rain feels like a rumor. I have lived in the desert long enough to learn what perseverance means and in the tropics long enough to learn what generosity feels like.I have slept on a mission trip floor where the only pillow was folded clothing. I have also slept in a hotel in Lake Como where the balcony doors opened to a view so beautiful it felt impossible. Both shaped me. Neither defined me.

People often assume that a life lived across so many worlds creates fearlessness. It does not. Fearlessness is a myth. I have been afraid. I have worried. I have stepped into places where I did not know the customs, did not speak the language, and did not fit in. But fear was never the point. What mattered was that I walked in anyway.I am not fearless, but I am not fearful. I simply refuse to live a life controlled by imaginary boundaries.Because the thing about moving through so many worlds is this. You begin to see that goodness exists everywhere. You learn that compassion is universal. You discover that people who pray differently or speak differently or vote differently are still driven by the same longing to be loved, safe, and understood. Differences stop looking dangerous and start looking interesting.Fear cannot survive proximity. It cannot survive connection. It cannot survive curiosity.

I have lived enough life to know that courage is not the loud gesture people applaud. It is the quiet choice to keep your heart open when every headline dares you to close it. Courage is walking into unfamiliar spaces with the belief that you will meet someone worth knowing. Courage is refusing to let the world make you smaller.

So no, I am not fearless. I am something else.I am a woman who has lived enough, traveled enough, prayed enough, and listened enough to understand that the opposite of fear is not bravery.The opposite of fear is presence.And I intend to stay present in this beautiful, complicated world for as long as I am allowed to walk in it. #blessed