There are two questions:
1. Who are our heroes and heroines?
2. What makes a person heroic?
When we ask one another who are our heroes most of the answers can be included in one major category, We list those who have done extraordinary things – in sports, in financial areas, in the entertainment industry, in the professions of medicine, law and politics, perhaps even in religion. And then, often because of the fame and adulation they are given, we witness their weakness and experience disappointment. The result of this can be cynicism and in literature, theatre, TV and movies we create “anti-heroes.”
So what makes a hero? The real heroes concentrate fully on the places and circumstances in which they find themselves and do whatever they can to strenghten their relationships and meet the daily needs of those around them. They try to do this cheerfully and hopefully, and even with a bit of laughter. Real heroes do not seek affirmation but find a a confident satisfaction in the ordinary situations which constitute the major portion of their lives. Parents and teachers – you can be heroic. But so can your children and students. We need to gently call out the heroic in one another – and have a high expectation that we will find it.