"COURAGE is not the absence of fear..."

June 12, 2009

"...but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

I stumbled upon this quote this morning and was reminded of its veracity. For an actor (or for any person for that matter), fear can debilitate, immobilize, derail. And because of its singularily destructive power, we push it away, pummel it, or simply bury it when it rears its sizeable head. But to what end?

As a child, I remember seeing cool surfer/skater types wear shirts that screamed, "No fear!"

Even though I felt equally cool in my high-top pink Converse, the tagline seduced me with its directness and confidence. So, I did what any other American girl would do: I inhaled the message, word by word, until it rested inside of me..."no fear no fear no fear no fear."

Fast forward several years. I'm now an actress pursuing my dreams, routinely setting goals to work hard to achieve. Among the financial, the personal, the professional, was the goal to be "fearless", "bold" and "courageous." Sounded good to me...

But rather than appreciating the nuances of those words, I grouped them together as if they all meant the same thing. Lucky for us, as the quotation expresses, they do not.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. --Ambrose Redmoon

Because the truth is, sometimes I am afraid. Sometimes I am fearful. Sometimes I feel more timid than bold. But I keep going...

Despite myself, despite discomfort, despite what's reasonable, I keep going. I keep going because I have deemed this journey valuable, worthy, inspired and much, much more important than fear.

"No fear?" Maybe not. But courageous? Definitely.