Recently, it has come to light that a childhood friend of mine is losing his battle with Cancer, after a long fight and several surgeries, he has reached a point where no longer can surgery be of assistance.
When I sit around and look at the every day, when I see people complaining about the insignificant on Facebook, I think about how certain people are "brave". For years, we have spoken about how our footballers are "brave" because they show courage by backing back into a marking contest, or put their bodies on the line. We talk about our soldiers and the courage and bravery that they show in defending the country that we live in. Then we talk about our everyday lives, how we make a "brave" decision.
From when we are kids, our parents and others talk about being brave, going to the Doctor for a needle or visiting the dentist.
In all due respect, is any of this brave? Each of these are a concious decision made by individuals that contribute to our life choices. It may be considered "brave" to make these decisions, but they are just decisions. Faced with our own mortality, that is when bravery is truly discovered.
My friend has stood face to face with the most evil of all illnesses for a long time now, and in light of all the references to being brave, it is he that I now see as truly brave. He could easily be forgiven for giving up the fight and fading away, but he refuses to do so, he has fought, oh how he has fought and he has done so with a young family by his side. Today, this truly brave man, wrote a message on his facebook that told everyone that no longer could medicine help him, but it was his final comment that has really hit home, someone faced with the greatest of evils, that has stood and fought for so long, that is now faced with his own mortality made one simple statement, one that will forever change the way I look at everything, the insignificant squabbles, the arguments and the pity.. "Make the most of the time I have left"..
We all have an expiry date, the only assurances in life after all are Death and Taxes, but it is how you fill that time that matters, wallowing in self pity or disappointment might seem like the best way to deal with something, but to wallow in those issues in the face of what someone else might face now seems a fruitless exercise, it is in these moments that I will always now use that simple phrase.
I met Cameron when we were just kids, when Cam, Greeny and Leighroy would first start hanging out together, through the years, through many games of basketball, through many days at school, through many drinking sessions at his parents house as we grew up (sorry Caroline), I knew Cam as one thing, a great kid with a great heart. Over many many years, nothing has changed. He is still a great kid with a great heart, a smile that could easily inspire you to do something completely illegal. We got up to plenty of mischief and had plenty of laughs. One of my favorites being when Cam and Leigh had only just turned 18. At a party the two of them had a competition drinking "beer shots" and both were very proud of themselves and their ability to drink so much. I challenged the both of them to do shots of something real, they both of course accepted. The next week, at the same house, I arrived armed with a bottle of tequila, by the half way mark of that bottle, both Leighroy and Cam lay on the front lawn throwing up. It was hilarious. But true to form, Cam backed up the week after, insisting that we had to finish the bottle. Which we did.
It may be a long while since we have seen each other Cam, but even in our last short chat just a few weeks ago, when we were likely the only two blokes in Australia awake at 6am on a Sunday morning, you have shown nothing but courage in your battle, even in that short conversation, the bravery was evident. You have had a profound influence on everyone that has had the pleasure to know you, and anyone that does know you will without doubt be blessed to know and now understand what really is, the true meaning of bravery.
