What makes a
hero? Obviously they don’t have to be jumping building to building by a spider
thread or leaping tall buildings in a single bound.
My romantic
heroes come in a variety of forms, oh wait, they aren’t all men either (often
referred to as heroines). Some of them wear uniforms like Law Enforcement, Emergency
Medical Services, or Military; I haven’t written about Fire Fighters… yet. Many
of my heroes wear everyday clothes, or business suits. Some of them, like Lon (Bartlett’s Rule), are just like “everyday” folk, he’s a writer who saves
Paige both emotionally and physically. And in true role reversal, Dave (Karma Visited) saves Annie, literally; then in the sequel to that book, Annie (Annie’s Karma) saves Dave’s life.
Dramatic
actions aren’t always what make a person into a hero, not in books and not in
real life. In the recent deep-freeze out in the Midwest a concerned woman took
out her credit card and rented motel rooms for several homeless people who
could have frozen to death on the street. Other people serve hot food to the
needy, volunteer time to walk dogs at the animal shelter, adopt an orphaned child, donate blood, or a myriad of different
things.
Heroism isn’t
always a dramatic act of bravery, although that certainly fits the bill, being
a hero can be a mindset, a desire to help others and to put others first. While
some heroic gestures may seem “safer” than others a hero always puts
himself/herself out there even if it’s not the most convenient thing to do.
“Just do right. Right may not be expedient,
it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. It brings you the kind
of protection that bodyguards can’t give you. So try to live your life in a way
that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity. Take
up the battle. Take it up. It’s yours. This is your life. This is your world.”
~ Maya Angelou
Please share what your
concept of a hero is in the comments below.
