In search of heroes

The other day as I sat quietly watching the evening sun slide over the horizon, for some reason memories of heroes that I have met in books and life flashed across my mind. As twilight faded into dark night, numerous names of men and women strolled through my mind’s eye. I wondered why these men and women were heroes to me. Some had been warriors like Ulysses, the ancient Greek wanderer, or Hercules, the greatest champion of the ancient world. Then images of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, and many other great spiritual leaders crowded in on me.

The parade of heroes continued. My own father and mother appeared. They too are heroes. As this passing scene continued to unfold, I asked who are the heroes of today? Why do I need heroes in my life?

As we rush through our daily lives trying to keep abreast of paying our bills, we rarely have time to ponder abstractions. Perhaps that is why as I sat that evening on the front porch silently gazing into the starspangled black night letting my mind wander languidly, I snatched the time to let myself think of abstract thoughts. I wanted to know what forces were guiding and motivating me to keep striving even when I felt defeated.

The hero is usually defined as an illustrious warrior, a man of great strength and courage, a person admired for his achievements and noble qualities, and one who shows great courage. He performs heroic deeds exhibiting or marked by courage or daring. He is supremely noble or self-sacrificing. His deeds are often seen in the courageous or daring action taken to save a life or a whole nation. Of all of the definitions, the one I most like is that a hero is a person who possesses a determined effort especially in the face of difficulty.

This meaning can be applied to many people around us daily. Not many of us have the opportunity to save a drowning child or a person from a burning building or save a whole nation. But we do face challenges that appear monumental. How we wrestle with them and conquer them determines whether or not we are heroes.

Earlier I mentioned my mother and father. The determined effort they possessed to persevere especially in the face of overwhelming difficulties in a strange country, the United States, to which they had migrated with three small children makes them heroes to me. Their names and actions will never be recorded as are more famous and obvious deeds. But they and hundreds of similar persons who have influenced my life are real heroes.

Entertainment and sports celebrities have captured our admiration. Sadly too many of our youth consider them heroes instead of what they are: entertainers. As a result the attributes of true heroes have become lost in this shift of paradigm. If one becomes popular we crown him with the laurel wreath of a hero.
Gone are the noble or self-sacrificing deeds.
Misplaced is the courage and daring. No longer do we admire the achievements and noble qualities that a true hero possess, but see instant gratification as merit in itself. When some scholar reveals a flaw that one of our heroes possessed as a human being, we seem to take delight in learning this fact. Gradually no one remains a hero. Gradually we are left alone with our self.

Weariness soon came over me and I rose to go into the house. I stowed the heroes back into my memory for another time. I never got to the question why do I need heroes. But I know I do. Don’t you?