We have become a culture of bystanders and voyeurs.
What were once world class news outlets are now gossip columns and the Hollywood town tattler. We are inundated with the glittery backwash of the rich, famous, and maybe-talented. And we drink it up – that sludge of very public successes and failures. Does athletic prowess, mad skills, and media exposure really make someone heroic? We've confused talent with heroism and character.
"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…Stories of heroism may serve as moral examples." *
As much as I love downhill skiing and have even been known to watch it on the telly, I would not consider the athletic talent heroic. Talent is a natural aptitude or skill. Heroism is character and decisions made in the face of immediate or future discomfort. Bode Miller is well known as a great skier, but would you really want him to date your sister…or your daughter? Exciting, wild, brash, and talented – he would make good company on a hike or over fizzy beverages – but I do not hope his story weaves into my daughter's story.
You will find inspiring stories of people who begin with talent and then add practice and discipline to their skill. Stories of kids who grow up in tough places and determine to perfect tossing that ball through the basket or sign up for the toughest classes in school. They work hard and often the pay off is a life unlike their beginnings. Their talent flourishes. That makes for a cool and inspiring story, but it doesn't necessarily make for a heroic tale. If they leverage their talent and influence to lift and offer life to others…that becomes the stuff of legend.
You know who I think of as heroes? My sister, Mimi, and her husband, Moe. They have been well acquainted with sadness and have pursued lives of quiet activism and action. They've fostered kids of all shapes, sizes, and stories. They are in the process of adopting a second toddler to add to their family of two grown sons, one adopted pre-school daughter, and a trio of rescue pups. No paparazzi waits at their door, Oprah has never called, and their life is imperfectly rich in friends and family. They are my heroes.
I think heroism boils down to asking two questions: "what do I have?" and "what can I do with it that meets a need?" Heroism is not a photo opportunity or tax break. It's not easy; there are no guarantees that what you cast your heart out towards will work out. Failure lurks constantly at the door. Faith in someone or something keeps the feet moving in the sludge of adversity.
- Planes drop from the sky and a hero jumps into icy water to save a dozen people. He does not come out of the water.
- Privilege paves the way through the Ivy League and six-figure salaries. But the greatest chapter of that good life is in the decision to walk beside the lost and homeless and forgotten.
- A friend unselfishly drops everything to support the dreams of another – because that dream involves bringing life to the poorest of the poor and activating a generation of world-changers.
- Everyday ordinary lives of people who do their best to actively love their family and neighbors – to not grow weary in doing good – to encourage and bring life. (I'm talking to you.)
Blows me away.
Only Morgan Freeman could play God and make me weep. The movie Bruce Almighty was an offense to some, but to me, it reminded me that other people wrestled, too ("Smite me, Oh Mighty Smiter!") My favorite line from the whole show is found in this clip, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Pfk79SgQU.
And for the record, I don't think Bode Miller would find my character worthy of dating his brother, either. Too much crusty on this old soul.
Blog Bonus: A few of my heroes
- Rosa Parks who displayed uncommon courage and grace
- Abraham Lincoln and Adlai Stevenson who endured personal loss and lived (& died) to make the world better
- Mother Teresa – especially when she told Bill Clinton to give her all the unwanted children – this diminutive crusty world-changer pointed her finger at him during a public ceremony and said "send them to me"
- CS Lewis who's work brings me lift and reminds me of life and mystery when the world looks dark
- TEACHERS who inspire (read Life in a Jar & thank you Janet Ostrom, David Huebner, Don Carrier, Joe Moore, and John Entwistle)
- Soldiers and their families who do more than "give one for the team"
- Go-ers and Stay-ers who live their lives deliberately as an offering to many – bringing light and food and fresh water to tough and arid places (from NYC to Kibera, Kenya)
- Doctors Without Borders
- the guys from Life is Good who inspire a movement of gratitude and give back from their profits to children, communities, the arts, and to everyday ordinary people like you and me
* thank you Wikipedia for summing this up nicely, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero
Video a friend sent describing what we do…not created by Adventures in Missions, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiAh3lYo6k4&feature=youtu.be.
