People keep telling me how “brave” I am. 

I appreciate the compliment, but it is not deserved nor the compliment that is warranted.  Let me be clear that this journey is not an act of bravery.

People who run into burning buildings. Brave.

People who free climb. Brave. Stupid, but brave.

People who try something that is new and scary to them, like Benno, brave.

To be brave requires choice. You choose to walk a path.

That is the difference.

I am not brave. Jacob is not brave. 

We are fighters. There is nothing brave about it. There is no moment when we had choice. No moment of decision to not run into the burning building. No moment to decide to wear a harness when scaling that mountain, and no choice in living this scary experience or not.

No choices, but one. FIGHT.

Maybe it’s better than being brave. You have no “out.” You have to be all in. Maybe it’s stronger than brave, but brave it is not.