To Boldly Go

This year I’m taking part in “Bloganuary” – a series of writing prompts published throughout the month by Mindy Postoff. Today’s writing prompt is “What does it mean to live boldly ?”.

According to the mighty Google, “being bold” is a willingness to take risks, be confident, or courageous. Bold is also described as strong, vivid, or clear in appearance. Therefore “living boldly” must mean going about your day making decisions while wearing brightly coloured clothing – unless you misinterpret “clear”, and get arrested for wearing transparent clothing in a public place (not entirely sure nudity is against the law, but definitely not confident enough to go grocery shopping in see-through clothing).

Shall I be serious for a moment?

I’m very much the kind of person that tags along and puts up with the situation he finds himself in. I’m not usually the person deciding where to go or what to do. Being happy in my own company has its advantages in these situations, because I can pretty much sustain in whatever conditions you surround me with.

I’m not bold. I’m not courageous. Not in outward ways. I’m a quiet plodder. While others cause drama, scream, shout, cry, gnash their teeth, or flail wildly, I’ll be the quiet person in the background putting one foot in front of the other, looking for a way forward.

Perhaps you can re-frame “being bold” into “staying the course”. There’s a lot to be said for being somewhat stubborn, dependable, and consistent. Sure, I might not explode like a firework when triggered, but I’ll be there to catch those that do – to dust them down, stand them back up, and ignore their embarrassment as they explain why they are wearing see-through clothes.