Are you a superhero?

Are you a superhero?  Do you possess extraordinary or superhuman powers?  Do you use your powers to counter day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity?  If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, there is a good chance you are a superhero. 

According to Wikipedia, some other character traits of a superhero are; A strong moral code, including a willingness to risk one's own safety in the service of good without expectation of reward, A motivation, such as a sense of responsibility, a formal calling, or a strong belief in justice and humanitarian service.

If you are starting to question if you may actually be a superhero, there is a good chance you are already or certainly could be someday!  While it is not likely you have a secret identity, wear a costume on days other than Halloween or refer to your home as “headquarters”, you may be someone’s superhero and not even realize it.  Or better yet, maybe you are supposed to be someone’s superhero if you just answered the figurative bat-phone.

Many times it is impossible to know the impact of your superhero actions.  You are most definitely someone’s hero when you volunteer your time to help others, giving charitable dollars to a local non-profit or just from being a kind, giving person.  Most of us will sleep a little better at night, feeling kind of suerhero-ish from those types of actions.  The deeds I mean are the doozies.  Something you do that can change another person’s trajectory in life for a minute, a day or maybe even forever. 

Before Christmas my husband took some toys that our boys have outgrown to a local resale store.  The line was very long and he had a limited amount of time to spend there.  While he waited in the line, a woman commented to him that her child would absolutely love one the items he was holding.  He paused for minute, approached the woman and simply said “Merry Christmas”.  He handed her the toy for her child and went to his car.  He will never know what that meant to her or to her child, maybe nothing.  But maybe it was the gift that made Christmas morning magical for her child. 

I work with a superhero.  Last year when I went on vacation, I came back to the news that she would be out for several weeks because she had given one of her kidney’s to a family member in need.   Not an immediate family member, but a more distant family member.  I remember thinking, “who would do that?” And the answer is her and hundreds of thousands of superhero’s every single day who are organ donors. 

What if you had the chance to save someone’s life?  Would you?  I am mesmerized when I hear a story of a passerby running into a burning building to save someone.  And what about the many superheroes that put themselves in harm’s way during the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary to save so many lives?  There is the teacher who believed in a child that no one else did, and because he did, the child just graduated from college.  That teacher is a superhero.  The mom that gives everything she has, every single day, so her children have a better a life than she did.  She is without doubt, a superhero.  The little girl, who fights cancer with superhero strength, and is surrounded by a superhero family, superhero doctors, nurses and friends.

I always ask myself, would I be capable of these same types of actions?  Of saving someone else’s life or having superhero strength when those around me need it?  The truth is, I really hope I have the “hero gene” if I am faced with the need for it. 

Being a hero is more than the golden rule.  It’s more than just doing what is right.  It is believing in our ability as human beings.  We all have the capacity to be extraordinary in everything we do instead of ordinary.  We can all create hope for someone who may not have any, we can all give generously without expectation of a return and we can all be someone’s hero.