HEROES FOUND!!!

2nd July 2012 - "HEROES FOUND!"


YES!  Heroes still live in this world!  Check this site out: http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/


What a cool concept!  If you read through their About Us section, Real Life Super Heroes is a civil service organization built around the ideals represented by superhero stories.  No, they're not other-worldly beings with super powers or mutant humans with special abilities.  They're people, like you and I who hope to make a difference wherever they are. 


These Real Life Super Heroes feel the tug to do more & help humanity.  Some have helped stop crimes in progress, helped solve crimes, or even helped prevent crimes by raising awareness.  Some of these Heroes have helped the injured in need or just helped serve society with Charity Work, Hospital Visits, & other general helps.  I think what they do is awesome!  "So shines a good deed in a weary world." So shines a bright light in a dark world.


Reading through the RLSH's Creed: http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/about/creed/  (which is awesome), I thought it misses something.  I'm not sure if misses is quite the right word but it inspired a thought in me.  What is the number one thing all Heroes must have?  What is the bottom line most important thing?  Is it a super power or a flashy costume?  No, as far as I know it, the Superhero Punisher (Marvel Comics) is just a guy with a gun (actually a few guns) who barely has any costume at all.  So what is the baseline requirement to be considered a Hero?


Dictionary.com defines hero as:

1.  a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

I posted only the first 2 definitions, as the others do not apply to this post.  The first short paragraph on Wikipedia's  article Hero is:


A hero (heroine is usually used for females) (Ancient Greek: ἥρως, hḗrōs), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.^[1] Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.


So, looking at these 2 definitions I would say that bottom line, a Hero must have Courage.  More then anything a hero is the person who stands up when others back down, who does that which is scary to help, save, or benefit another.  They do what might be terrifying but is most certainly right.


I once heard someone say that Courage is not the absence of fear but the choice to do what you know is right in the face of fear.  I challenge all of us to take the Courage Pledge:

• Everyday I will do at least one thing that challenges, scares & probably stretches me.  I will choose to be courageous whenever I can.

This act of courage might be something small like "liking" a controversial post on Facebook that you believe in or it might be saying something when you normally wouldn't.  It might even be something big like rescuing someone in harms way. 


The point is to challenge yourself to do a little bit each day.  I take this pledge to be Courageous everyday & I hope you'll join me.  And if you feel so moved, post a comment about an act of courage you perform.  We can all be heroes to someone. Even if no ones sees it & all it means is that we can stand a little taller & at look ourselves in the mirror with a smile.

TASTES LIKE BURNING

23rd June 2012     "TASTES LIKE BURNING”

Right now Colorado is on fire.  I mean all of Colorado.  Well not quite literally every square foot but there are 9 separate fires up & down the Rocky Mountains.  The fires have destroyed hundreds of structures, caused thousands to be homeless from emergency evacuations & property loss, and crisped over 100,000 acres collectively.  The fires have threatened a multitude of small & large towns, to include Estes Park, Colorado Springs, & Fort Collins; which is where I live.  West of the Fort Collins area is the High Park Fire, currently labeled as the 3rd largest & #1 most destructive fire in Colorado history.  Firefighters say this is the fire they hoped would never happen.  Some say the fire almost has a mind of it's own, like some monster that's come & settled in on Colorado.  As soon as the fire looks like it's contained, it changes directions, jumps a fire line, or otherwise goes a little chaotic.  If the fire is a monster then the Firefighters are the heroes.

The Firemen here are working themselves to the bone & certainly doing a great job.  Still, nearly 250 structures have been lost & many of which are peoples homes.  Some people have been really crappy about it too which brought up the thought, "What do you do when a hero fails?" or more specifically "What do you do when a hero fails you?" Another thought: "How do you go on when you fail someone?"  In any of the previous questions we'll assume the hero (whether that was you or some one else) did all they could, gave it there all & still could not succeed.  What did you do? How did you treat them?  How did you treat yourself?

I feel that this one of the hardest things for anyone to deal with.  Forgiveness of self & forgiveness of others is rough; or it can be.  I started this blog with something heroic in mind.  I would love to live a heroic tale!  But things in this world don't always work out as smooth as they do in a story.  More often we'd like to admit, things are painfully not in our control.  For me that is hard to deal with but I'm working on adjusting & forgiving & adapting in moments where I don't make it.  Anybody else have a hard time with this?  Anybody have any tested secrets?

IT HAS BEGUN

21^st - 22^nd June 2012     "IT HAS BEGUN"

Here I am at 12:14 a.m. – writing.  I’ve gotta be up in 6-ish hours to go to work.  I’ve already had a long day.  I should be tired. . . What am I doing?!?!

Writing.

Why?  Because the words have to get out.  If I don’t write, the words are just going to keep me restless; or worse yet, I’ll lose them.  It’s not that what I’m writing is so paramount that I’m uncontrollably driven to write.  I’m not scribing the Bible here!  Nor am I saving the world . . .

I’m writing because there’s something I feel and I cannot be the only one who does.  It’s an unsettling feeling that sometimes keeps me up at night.  Sometimes this feeling leaves me screaming angry.  Sometimes this feeling leaves me depressed & lost.  I can't always describe this feeling, outside of the fact that I perceive it, & I know at times this brings out questions that we all have asked: "Why is this happening?"  "Why am I here?"  "What is wrong with this world?"

To quote Morpheus from the movie The Matrix:

“Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there...like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

And we all know what he's talking about.  In the movie Neo answers Morpheus with the question "The Matrix?" but in real life we can answer Morpheus' question with questions of our own: "Why is life so mundane?" “Where is the grand adventure?" "Why aren’t there Heroes anymore?”

I’m starting this Blog because I’d like to know the answer to these questions & I don’t believe I’m the only one who does.  I believe Heroism is in the heart of every person.  We live in a messed up world with many needs.  I believe the choice of Heroism tugs at our very being every day & every day we decide if we’ll listen & respond to it or not.

My intention with this blog is to write about what I see and hear and feel and I invite you to respond in kind.  Some days the posts will be serious & some days they’ll be comical.  My hope is one day the questions a fore mentioned can be answered with an uproar of people saying “Send me, I’ll go.  I’ll be the Hero.”

At the end of the day, all that’s here are words & all I’m doing is writing.  But, words in their basest form are the conveyance of ideas & ideas have the potential to become something more, something greater, if you let them.  What you choose to do with what you see here is up to you.  So whether this blog is your call to arms, a wind of inspiration, or just a breath of fresh air, I hope it leaves you feeling better then when you found it, whatever ‘better’ might be.