The Hero We Need

There is a song that I heard a while ago and part of the verse goes something like this…”Everyone’s a Hero, everyone’s a Star…” It got me to thinking…DOES everyone have it in them to be a hero? If so, then why is it that there are so few heroic people today? Why is it, that when the chips are down, people seem to usually take the path of least resistance, whether it is the right choice or not? So that got me thinking about what is a hero, really?

Certainly not someone that dresses is tight tights and fights crime on the streets. Nah, that’s just silly. Some people look to movie stars and athletes as their heroes. Nah, I don’t think that’s it either. Sure, they may be talented and good at what they do, but heroic? Doesn’t meet the criteria. So, what then IS the criteria?

Well, Heroes have been presented to us for hundreds and thousands of years. They have been used in stories to illustrate worthy qualities. Things like intelligence, strength, patience, cleverness, charity, faith, love, and a whole slew of others. And, over the years, heroes in our stories have changed. We no longer have heroes like Jason, Hector, Ulysses, Arthur, Sinbad, or Beowulf. If you look at these old story heroes, they all seem to have a few things in common. Most of, it is their very humanness. They may be powerful and strong and smart as a whip, but they all have their own flaws and faults. They were never perfect. They fell and were mean and horrible sometimes. But they were STILL heroes. Why? How could a man that lied to everyone he ever met and built himself up into something that he never was, be considered a Hero? I believe it was because he came to KNOW his own flaws, he accepted them, and worked to overcome them. Which, in the end he does. And Beowulf IS a true Hero.

So…back to the original thought…where are the Heroes of now? I know that they are there. Most of them are the quiet, simple people that hold the Heroic Qualities to a high level and refuse to compromise those qualities. They are not perfect, just like our Heroes of old, but they always do their best and, hopefully, recognize their flaws and work to remove them. Some of them find themselves thrown into the spotlight; the NYFD on 9-11 comes to mind. THEY are heroes, each and every one of those men and women that went up, when all others were going down, that shoveled debris with their hands because they knew someone was trapped underneath. They are the easy ones to recognize. But they are still a very small minority.

“Everyone’s a Hero, everyone’s a Star…” It just doesn’t make sense to me. I certainly don’t feel like a Hero. I KNOW that I have a lot of flaws. In fact, I have several people (some good friends) that take the time to point them out to me! How lucky am I?? But Heroic? No way.

But sometimes, just sometimes, I catch the look in my son’s eyes and I feel heroic. Sometimes I can believe that everyone has the potential to be heroic, if only we reach down far enough and pull it up to the surface. You see, I believe that everyone is built to be able to recognize the Heroic Qualities. We all recognize their opposites too. And while we may be more entertained by the opposites, we have a natural respect and appreciation of the Heroic Qualities. We can see them in anyone. The boy that stands up to the school bully, the family that takes dinner to their elderly neighbor, the driver that stops to help change a flat. These are heroic moments in people’s lives. Unfortunately, most of us leave the moment behind and return to our mundane lives.

But what if…what if we held on to that moment for a bit? What if we took that small bit of heroism back with us into life and built upon it? Slowly we could build up those Heroic Qualities that we all have inside and we could…each and every one of us…become a Hero for today. Oh, you probably won’t be in any sort of spotlight, at least not big ones. But there will be people that see you as their Hero. It might just be your family and kids, or your friends or coworkers. Or, it might be someone that you will never actually meet again or maybe not even see in the first place.

You might be a little intimidated at the thought of trying to be a Hero, don’t be. Most Heroes didn’t want the jobs.  So you’ll be in good company.

Give it a try.

I’ll be watching for you to be my Hero.