I have heroes. Some of them are personal heroes, like my Dad who chose to make his family his number one priority in life, above career or accomplishment & decided his family is his life’s greatest work. Some are musical heroes, such as James Davis who planted a seed of inspiration in a young boy to play music and then years later backed it up with actions – without James, I would never have played guitar or written a song. Some are business heroes, for instance, Seth Godin who inspires me to add my voice to the world. There are so many, we can’t begin to name them all or do them justice with mere words.
According to the definition of the word, a hero is someone you admire or possibly idealize based on who they are, what they have become or the impact they made in the world. I know you have heroes too. We all have people who have impacted our lives in a positive way. Someone we have learned from or with to better ourselves or our understanding. So many great influences on my life. I will never meet some of these people. Some of these folks will never know or understand what an amazing impact they have had on our lives. In fact, you are probably thinking of a few right now.
As with anything, there is a flip side as well. The anti-heroes. The people who impacted us in a negative way. The love of your life who shattered your heart into so many pieces you were never able to pick them all up again. The best friend who stabbed you in the back for no good reason & left you unable to trust. The politicians who enact laws to benefit the lobbyists who pay them while the innocent are abused in the process. The person who abuses children in any way shape or form. The opposite of heroes.
Not all of our heroes have names known worldwide, and the same is true for our anti-heroes. In fact, most of them are not famous people at all. They are teachers, friends, coaches, co-workers, etc. They are dragons just like us. Actually, let’s think about it for a moment. They are us. We are them.
Have we ever stopped to realize we could be someone’s hero? Really understand what kind of an impact we have in other people’s lives? Think about how grateful you are to those people who have helped you along the way. Some people feel this way about you! And, if we have made poor choices in our life, well, some people might feel the way about us we feel about our anti-heroes. We could also be an anti-hero.
How we live our life will impact others. Many others. There isn’t even a question about it. It can’t be denied. We are connected to each other in this life. Whether we like the fact or not. For our achievements, we stand on the shoulders of others. Others, they can stand on our shoulders. We will have a positive impact or a negative impact on our world. We choose which it will be.
The single mom or dad who needs help to make ends meet, the addicted individual struggling, the hopeless soul reaching out – you will be their hero.
You are extraordinary! You are my hero. I love you. Thank you.
We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too. — Helen Hayes