You Don’t Have To Be Super To Be A Hero

It’s refreshing to look around the world since the COVID crisis began. Odd statement to make, I know, but once you get past the panic and really peer into it…amazing things are happening.

Since time immemorial man in its societal form has loved to put people on pedestals. In some cases quite literally if you look to sculptures from the art world. Most faiths have icons to emulate. As do scientists, philosophy students, and right on down to the everyday citizen. We’re drawn to the light of vanguards like moths to the proverbial flame.

Think Einstein, Mozart, Plato, or more recently Hawking and Gates. All people elevated by the masses as goals to model. A side effect of this emulation though is the feeling that we’ll never measure up to that level of greatness. That it’s not in the cards for us due to a perceived lack of qualities or resources to be able to achieve such lofty goals.

I’ve always been a fan of super heroes. I was blessed to grow up in a generation where women were included among them. Eyes glued to the adventures of Diana Prince as Wonder Woman or Jamie Sommers as the Bionic Woman. I can distinctly recall running in slow motion down the hallways of my elementary school, complete with very lame vocal sound effects. Oh to be able to jump that high, run that fast, or eavesdrop on some nefarious plot with my super hearing and be the only one able to foil it.

I see that sense of wonder and awe in my grandkids today as they marvel at Marvel or dive into DC’s world. Superheroes inspire, but at the same time we forget that they all have vulnerabilities that make them human…even the ones from other planets. Whether it’s Superman being in the presence of Kryptonite, Batman leaving his Utility Belt in the glove box of one of his other cars, or Iron Man’s suit being drained of power, they all have weaknesses. It’s when you realize this fact, that you become aware that we all have a hero within us, whether it’s super or not.

Einstein had to be remind to eat for crying out loud, and Plato was in dire need of fashion stylist. (Okay, that was a bit of a stretch, but you get where I’m going.) The great thing about what’s going on now is that we are seeing the unlikeliest of heroes take the stage and it’s providing us with the opportunity to look for our own special qualities and put them to use.

A year ago, the average grocery store clerk would go unnoticed. Now they are essential and we realize their importance. Nurses and doctors have often been set above, but we’re seeing their sacrifices like never before. Truck drivers are no longer big burly guys in flannel catching a bite at a greasy spoon, they’re making it possible for us to get the absolute necessities for our existence.

My hope is that it doesn’t stop there. My wish for myself and for all of you is that we take this extra time we’ve been given to stop and look at what it is we can heroically offer the world. The most humble among you or the ones whose self worth has been stomped down by life will be inclined to say you have nothing. Nothing special or great or worthy to give. I neither accept nor believe that, because I see you doing amazing things every day.

I’m a simple housewife, mother, and grandmother. Never went to college, although I’ve tried to soak up information like a sponge to make up for it. Still there’s no piece of paper framed on my wall telling me I met some standard of achievement. Even so, I have been of use and of service in all of this. That’s not horn-tooting, that’s just repeating what I’ve been told. In fact, I had to be told it multiple times before I even let it register.

I still don’t see myself clad in lycra with a cape flowing in my wake. I never will. That’s not my role in this world. It’s no one’s role outside of a comic book studio or film set. What is my purpose is to employ the God-given strengths I do have to help one person at a time. It might be so small a contribution that it goes completely unnoticed, but it might spark something to propel someone else forward in their own world to perform their own unique task.

So today I’d like you to contemplate on what your strengths are and employ them for the betterment of one other person today. It can be just checking in. It can be a random act of kindness. Maybe it’s just to be a cheerleader for a hero already in action, because trust me, no matter how strong they are, they need lifting up too. You don’t have to be super to be a hero. You already are one.

Thanks for reading. Wishing you love, health, safety, and today especially…the wisdom to know your worth. XOXO

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