Believe

Do you believe in heroes?

The other day when I revealed the work I’d done on my husband’s website, my husband called me his hero. It took me by surprise. Me? A hero? We talked for a while about what he meant and it got me to thinking about who I call a hero.

Chinese symbol for believe, lynettemburrows.com

As a little girl, I loved stories about heroes and heroines. I believed in the everyman characters who became heroes through their grand, selfless acts. I believed with my whole heart.

Today, I still believe in heroes. Yes, I am a romantic optimist. I believe in the classic hero, the kind that I write about in my action-suspense science fiction novels. But I also believe in ‘everyday’ heroes.

Definition of Hero

  1.  a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
  2. an illustrious warrior
  3. a person admired for achievements and noble qualities 
  4. one who shows great courage
  5. the principal character in a literary or dramatic work â€”used specifically of a principal male character especially when contrasted with heroineMerriam-Webster Dictionary

The third definition is what’s important in this discussion. A person admired for achievements and noble qualities. There are lots of those heroes.

Classic Heroes

Our men and women on the battlefields are heroes, the ones whose acts we learn about and many we, the public, will never know. So too, men and women in the newspaper whose bold acts catch the public eye, like the cafeteria worker walking to work who stopped to pull a family to safety from their burning home, are heroes. These are heroes in the classic sense of the word: men and women who perform feats of great courage or nobility of purpose often at great risk to themselves. I do not want to denigrate these acts. These people are heroes. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their service, their selflessness.

But there are other heroes The heroes whose acts of great courage and nobility of purpose are not bold and do not require public acts of strength or self-sacrifice. These are the heroes who typically do not even think of themselves as heroes, but they are. They are people we can look up to and hope to emulate.

’Everyday’ Heroes

As a pediatric nurse, I see ‘everyday’ heroes and heroines on a daily basis. They are family members, parents, foster parents, and patients who face what seem to be insurmountable odds. They have suffered personal tragedies, traumas, or setbacks. I look at their lives from the outside and think it must take a tremendous amount of courage in order to get through their day.

I am certain there are days when they feel beat down as if they can’t take another step. Yet, they move forward with a smile, with profound love and kindness. They go to work every single day, help their family, do the things that need to be done. It wasn’t how they envisioned their life. They adapt, modify, incorporate the things they must do into their everyday life. Many of them don’t just follow the path they were given. They manage to step outside the box and follow their dream.

How do they do that?

I think the ones that manage to do this are a little like bulldogs themselves. They have a tenacious belief in their goal. It is that belief that keeps them moving forward, a belief that sometimes is so ingrained in who they are that they don’t even know they are doing something ‘against all odds.’

Sometimes, life beats you down. Maybe medical issues, economic issues, security, or any of the thousands of other possibilities have overcome you. Next time you think you’ve lost that optimism, that belief in your own courage, that belief in yourself. Remember heroes do exist, in stories and in real life. Remember that you may be someone’s hero without even knowing it. And remember to believe . . .

Believe in your dreams.
Believe in today.
Believe that you are loved.
Believe that you make a difference.
Believe we can build a better world.
Believe when others might not.
Believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Believe that you might be that light for someone else.
Believe that the best is yet to be.
Believe in each other.
Believe in yourself

Kobi Yamada

Perhaps you need a little mood music to believe. Try reading and listening to “Celebrating Daydreams and Heroes.”

I believe in heroes. I believe you are a hero. Do you? Who are some of your heroes?

5 comments

  1. Good topic. My idea of a hero has shifted over the years. Definitely, the men and woman that risk their own lives to protect others…the firemen, policemen, our soldiers. But, now I would also include our teachers. Their jobs have only gotten more stressful and less profitable and still…they care, they sacrifice, the teach our children. Amazing people. Oh, and of course, all those who stand up for freedom in countries where doing so will get them killed. Heroes.

    1. Yes, I would agree. Teachers can be heroes. And the everyday people “standing up for freedom in countries where doing so will get them killed?” You betcha! Great additions. Thank, Shannon.

  2. Lynette,
    What a nice topic to start off your blog site! Heroes are an important part of our lives.
    How kind of your husband. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We all need someone to look up to. Keep them coming Lynette!

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