be selfless
He can feel the blood chugging through his veins and with every heartbeat it reminds him that he's not made of wood anymore, that he's alive and fresh and growing instead of something brittle and dead and held together with magic. Each breath is a triumphant scream: I'm ALIVE, ALIVE, ALIVE, and he can't understand how anyone can tolerate the stifling that comes with sitting still (dead things are still, and he is ALIVE). He tries so hard for Papa to be still and quiet so he won't be disruptive, but not moving feels like death creeping back into him through the soles of his feet and he has to run and jump and make his heart pound and his lungs burn to vanquish it.
be brave
He's so afraid when Papa asks him to go through the wardrobe, but he knows the Princess must be even more afraid, because she's younger and smaller and weaker than he is. He settles his hat more firmly on his head and takes deep breaths (ALIVEALIVEALIVE) as he crouches in the wardrobe and waits for the magic to do its work, and he knows he can do this because he doesn't have a choice. This new world is full of scary shouting metal things that are even deader than he was, and he holds Baby Emma tightly to his chest for his comfort as much as hers. "It's going to be okay," he whispers when she starts to cry. "It's going to…" But he's only seven. "We'll find someone who'll know what to do."
be true
What he's doing with his life is wrong and he knows it, but knowing is easier if he keeps running. Besides, there's always a chance he'll run into Emma and they'll make it to Storybrooke together. Death finds him first, though; the splintering pain where flesh meets wood makes him wake up gasping for breath (ALIVEalivealive), and he knows it's too late to fix himself.