Brave or fearless? Many people use both of these terms interchangeably, in the same sentence, as if both terms have the same meaning. Can one be both brave and fearless? I'm not so sure. I believe the terms are different. Fearlessness means to have no fear. Bravery is not fearlessness.
A man who comes home to find his house on fire, and who runs into the burning building to save his wife and children, though he naturally fears for his own life and safety, will overcome that fear to do what he believes he ought to do, to save the ones he loves. Bravery is the state of mind that allows one to do what one ought to do in the face of fear. Fearlessness, on the other hand, requires a lack of fear.
It is possible, I believe, to experience both bravery and fearlessness, but not at the same moment. When one has become brave, it is possible to lose that fear through focus and to become fearless. I believe it is also possible to transition from fearlessness to bravery when one loses that focus and permits oneself to become fearful again while doing what one ought to do.
Just a thought.
