Who comes to mind when you think about your personal heroes: a parent, sibling, action figure, military veteran, or stranger you witness saving a life? Maybe it's the elderly lady selflessly serving free Thanksgiving meals inside the homeless shelter, an ER Doctor working exhaustively for three days straight, or just someone that reaches out their car window at an intersection handing over a dollar bill to a stranger in need. No matter who they are, we all want, and wish for someone who's larger than life.
Heroes come in many shapes, forms and patterns, and they don't always have to be the 5-Star Generals, or super-stealthy Navy Seals we all read about and see at the movies. They usually surface in the humblest of places, and oddest of times. They can be the person who helps you fix that flat in the middle of a driving rainstorm on a dark country road, flashes a smile during a hard day at work, helps you move when others are conveniently absent, rescues a kid from a burning building, saves an animal from a shelter and takes it home, adopts an abandoned child, or just someone who comes into your life and gives you some much-needed happiness. Heroes are becoming scarcer by the second, making us appreciate them when we're lucky enough to have one bless our lives.
I've written about heroes in my novel. That's really what it's all about; two souls, who met at an early age, then pulled each other through their darkest of struggles. They relied on their strengths, weaknesses, protection, vulnerabilities, and emotional stability when no one else knew their secrets, or really even cared. Present, was a mutual respect which couldn't be found anywhere else. Even after death, one could easily bring a smile to the others face. And for them, the lifeline that developed was irreplaceable when all they had to continue living, eventually, was each other. They weren't larger-than-life super figures with armies marching behind them, rather, just two ordinary individuals who had each others backs, no matter what.
Have you ever had someone in your life who you knew would always be there despite any situation? Could you call and wake them at 3 a.m. with an urgent problem? Trust them to never talk about you behind your back. Would they stand by your side and take a bullet with you because they couldn't stand to see you go it alone? Would they give to you freely without any thought of payback? Would they lift you from the darkest bowls of depression, making you see the sunlight through the clouds? How about loyalty and all that entails, would you be their number one priority when the troubles in life reared their ugly heads? For me, this is what represents a hero.
Friendship is one thing. I have several people in my life who I can easily call friends. But, being a hero to someone takes it up to an entirely different level.
As mentioned above, we've all seen the heroes on TV and in the movies; even the ones who swoop in when natural disasters develop and take care of those in need. There's nothing wrong with defining them as heroes, and many certainly deserve the label. But, the purpose of this article is to discuss the ones we know, those who live inside our personal relationships on a routine basis...Not many of them around, are there?
I hope others will decide to be thought of heroes. The world desperately needs them, and we should all strive to become one, providing that feel-good place when another is in need.
For the price of a latte' @ Starbucks, allow me to give you an adventure of two souls who were truly each others heroes. Here's the quick link: Amazon