all images and stories are the property of Catherine Beerda-Basso and are not to be used without given permission...thank you

Friday 2 March 2012

Could I be that brave...

I just finished watching The Help
again
I enjoy movies on Friday....
as I watched the movie
I wondered
Could I be that brave?
Brave like the white girl
who goes against the grain of her
very cliquey social circle?
Or even more controversial
could I have been an out spoken 
 voice for the rights
of the African Americans?

Or what about the braveness of the African American maids
portrayed in this movie,
living in a hot bed of racial discrimination
Could I have held my dignity
while constantly being undermined?


They all make me think
Could I be that brave?

Then there is the surreal story about


This movie stayed with me for days...
I had a hard time watching some of the scenes
I wepted for an unknown sister
as I watched her 
life being taken from her
and her voice hold no power to defend
Could I have been brave like her...
to look at those who were about to stone me?
Could I have been brave as her aunt
who told the story, in secret,
to a stranger who came to the village?
Could I be that brave?

And how about Irena Sendler.
Irena Sendler is known for saving 2,500 Jewish children
by smuggling them out of the Jewish Ghetto
in Warsaw during World War II.
Her story, too, was made into a movie...
Courageous indeed!


There is a moment in the movie when Irena comes home
to tell her sick mother what it is she
is planning to do.
Of course her mother is scared for her daughters safety
and yet
she too must be brave because in her heart
she knows the words her daughters says
are true.

I'd like to think I could be as brave
as all these women
these
regular women
just like me
I'd like to think that I would be on the right side of things
I'd like to think
I'd be brave enough to follow True
and stand up against discrimination
I'd like to think....
that I could be that brave
but
truth is
I do not know
When faced with the conflict
the controversy
the uncertainty
the fear
Could I be that brave?

Love and Light








8 comments:

  1. Those stories are incredibly beautiful. The help is one of my favourite movies. We are all called to different forms of bravery- some more drastic than others. I guess my point is, dear Cat- that you are already brave for being you, for sharing what you do, for stepping out in courage to embrace the ordinary day with gusto, for speaking for women...the bravery comes in baby steps...every day. I have no doubt that in those moments you would arise too:)

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  2. I agree with Kmarie. She said it better than I could. xo

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  3. Thank you for this post! And thanks for your encouragement this weekend. Oh to be brave...I've been thinking about this myself. I need to put these movies on my viewing list; sounds like they are inspiring!

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  4. I don't know if I 'as' brave as these woman - but I know the journey I am on is taking huge bravery and I am being brave in my own right.
    I too watched the help again last night and cried for all those woman - . . . .

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  5. I often think that very same thing Cat. I do think though if it was pressed upon your heart to do it with the same conviction that these amazing women had,, then yes.... you/we/her/she/me ... could be that brave. But still shaking in my boots brave, at that!

    P.S. LOVED The Help - book and movie!

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  6. i hadn't realised that they had already made a film of The Help.
    i'm not sure i would ever use the term brave. but i have a strong sense of justice that won't allow me to sit quietly and not make waves.

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  7. they are incredible women with incredible stories.. and I don't think I could ever be that brave, as much as I admire them.

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  8. Perhaps we don't have a choice, perhaps we are put in the midst and we must respond. Then our responses look brave to others, but mostly what we felt was the pain and difficulty.

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Your voice is welcome here, your connection appreciated. Love and Light