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.
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