--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For one brief incalculable moment we were…" description: "\"“For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or afraid.”\" — Kevin Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png" --- # For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or… ![“For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or afraid.” quote by Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png) > ““For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or afraid.”” [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fleeting moment can suspend both courage and fear, leaving a neutral, indescribable state. **In simple terms:** Brief moments can be neither brave nor afraid. Key Takeaway Notice and reflect on such pauses. Themes existence emotion neutrality momentarity Mood reflective calm Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - meditation - creative writing - therapy - artistic expression Key Concepts philosophy psychology mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does a neutral emotional space feel like? - How can we use it for growth? A Different Perspective Such moments may be fleeting and hard to capture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Brave Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-afraid-1573897/) [Brief Incalculable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief-incalculable-5025982/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Incalculable Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incalculable-moment-5025981/) [Moment Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-brave-2082056/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“You're brave to have driven all this way." Gwen considered for a moment whether this made her brave. In truth, she was always afraid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hay/you-re-brave-to-have-driven-all-this-way-gwen-considered-for-a-moment/) [Elizabeth Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hay/) > [“Will there be no more irises in your garden tomorrow morning, or perhaps any rainbows that covet your roof will melt into Rorschach pastels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-ward/will-there-be-no-more-irises-in-your-garden-tomorrow-morning-or/) [BJ Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-ward/) > [I've always been able to fake my way into confidence. Sometimes I put my own fears aside to make sure I'm being of service…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-brooks/i-ve-always-been-able-to-fake-my-way-into-confidence-sometimes-i-put/) [Danielle Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-brooks/) > [Before I knew you, I thought brave was not being afraid. You've taught me that bravery is being terrified and doing it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/before-i-knew-you-i-thought-brave-was-not-being-afraid-you-ve-taught/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“Don't you see? You can't be brave without being afraid. The brave ones are always afraid. But they do what they must, even so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-hall/don-t-you-see-you-can-t-be-brave-without-being-afraid-the-brave-ones/) [Teri Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-hall/) > [“Being brave isn't not being afraid. Being brave is being afraid and going ahead and doing what you have to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-tarkan/being-brave-isn-t-not-being-afraid-being-brave-is-being-afraid-and/) [S'TarKan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-tarkan/) > [You can only be brave by being afraid. Embrace what you are scared of and shift its energy to destroy your fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brown/you-can-only-be-brave-by-being-afraid-embrace-what-you-are-scared-of/) [Joel Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brown/) > [People aren't brave for not being afraid of anything, but they are brave when they stand up to their fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-aren-t-brave-for-not-being-afraid-of-anything-but-they-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“it takes someone brave to do what everyone else is afraid to do first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/it-takes-someone-brave-to-do-what-everyone-else-is-afraid-to-do-first/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [“It isn't brave to do something you're not afraid to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-walton/it-isn-t-brave-to-do-something-you-re-not-afraid-to-do/) [Evangeline Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-walton/) > [The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-time-a-man-can-be-brave-is-when-he-is-afraid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no brave men and cowardly men in the world, my son. There are only brave men. To be born, to live, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-maclean/there-are-no-brave-men-and-cowardly-men-in-the-world-my-son-there-are/) [Alistair Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-maclean/) > [Be brave never afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-brave-never-afraid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the mistakes the Germans made ... was that they were not brave enough to be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/one-of-the-mistakes-the-germans-made-was-that-they-were-not-brave/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Robb says the man died bravely, but Jon says he was afraid." "What do you think?" his father asked. Bran thought about it. "can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/robb-says-the-man-died-bravely-but-jon-says-he-was-afraid-what-do-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## More by Kevin Powers > [There is a sharp distinction between what is remembered, what is told and what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/there-is-a-sharp-distinction-between-what-is-remembered-what-is-told/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [I guess I find the boundaries between poetry and prose to be somewhat permeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-guess-i-find-the-boundaries-between-poetry-and-prose-to-be-somewhat/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I didn't want to be responsible for him. I had enough to worry about. I was disintegrating, too. How was I supposed to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-didn-t-want-to-be-responsible-for-him-i-had-enough-to-worry-about-i/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [I had the feeling that if I encountered anyone they would intuit my disgrace and would judge me instantly. Nothing is more isolating than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-had-the-feeling-that-if-i-encountered-anyone-they-would-intuit-my/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“Through those drooping branches the city sprawled out haphazardly like a drunk on a sidewalk, fallen where he may.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/through-those-drooping-branches-the-city-sprawled-out-haphazardly/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I've come to accept that parts of life are constant, that just because something happens on two different days doesn't make it a goddamn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-ve-come-to-accept-that-parts-of-life-are-constant-that-just-because/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [I think a lot of the guys I know and a lot of people I've talked to, what they want is very often what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-think-a-lot-of-the-guys-i-know-and-a-lot-of-people-i-ve-talked-to/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [The war tried to kill us in the spring. As grass greened the plains of Nineveh and the weather warmed, we patrolled the low-slung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/the-war-tried-to-kill-us-in-the-spring-as-grass-greened-the-plains-of/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“People are going to die," he said flatly. "It's statistics." Then he got up and left the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/people-are-going-to-die-he-said-flatly-it-s-statistics-then-he-got-up/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“It's lovely to think that snow can be special. we're always told it is. Of all those million million flakes that fall, no two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/it-s-lovely-to-think-that-snow-can-be-special-we-re-always-told-it-is/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [The details of the world in which we live are always secondary to the fact that we must live in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/the-details-of-the-world-in-which-we-live-are-always-secondary-to-the/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [It reminded me of talking, how what is said is never quite what was thought, and what is heard is never quite what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/it-reminded-me-of-talking-how-what-is-said-is-never-quite-what-was/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“He waited, as if waiting for whichever last shadow would cause evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/he-waited-as-if-waiting-for-whichever-last-shadow-would-cause-evening/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“A moment is never long enough to account for tragedy when you are in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/a-moment-is-never-long-enough-to-account-for-tragedy-when-you-are-in/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“I smelled the clean house and the wood-frame bed. It was all filler. The noise, the sound, they existed just to take up space.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/i-smelled-the-clean-house-and-the-wood-frame-bed-it-was-all-filler/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) [Explore all 73 Kevin Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) ## More Brave quotes > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [It's always brave to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-yifei/it-s-always-brave-to-be-yourself/) [Liu Yifei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-yifei/) > [“Victory is for the fucking brave, not the timid and excuse-riddled weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakk-wylde/victory-is-for-the-fucking-brave-not-the-timid-and-excuse-riddled-weak/) [Zakk Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakk-wylde/) > [I'm very proud of 'Every Girl's a Super Girl.' I want all girls to know that no matter what size, color, or shape, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/i-m-very-proud-of-every-girl-s-a-super-girl-i-want-all-girls-to-know/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [And I read the moral--A brave endeavour To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/and-i-read-the-moral-a-brave-endeavour-to-do-thy-duty-whate-er-its/) [James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a fallacy with stand up comedy, which is, people come up to comedians, and they go, 'You say what I think but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/there-s-a-fallacy-with-stand-up-comedy-which-is-people-come-up-to/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) > [Fortune helps the brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/fortune-helps-the-brave/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [“A ‘good’ father will tenderly cultivate his children. But a ‘good’ father who is also a ‘brave’ father will let the children without cultivate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/a-good-father-will-tenderly-cultivate-his-children-but-a-good-father/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [And is it selfish of me to crave victory, or is it brave?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-is-it-selfish-of-me-to-crave-victory-or-is-it-brave/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [THE British are brave people. They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) [Browse all 3,314 Brave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or afraid.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kevin Powers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-were-not-brave-or-afraid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-were-not-brave-or-afraid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/kevin-powers-9351_brave_for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-wer_2232124.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For one brief incalculable moment we were not brave or afraid.” — Kevin Powers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kevin Powers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For one brief incalculable moment we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-were-not-brave-or-afraid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/for-one-brief-incalculable-moment-we-were-not-brave-or-afraid/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```