My Heroes, And The Hero You Are Too

My heroes have always been cowboys…have you ever heard the song? This is true to some extent, there is a lot to be admired in cowboy life. In a number off famous cowboy stories and most cowboy movies, one or more Cowboy’s are heroes. The Cowboy life just does not transfer over to the rest of our society at times. One of my lifelong real world heroes is an ex world champion boxer – Mr. Mohammed Ali. Mr Ali has taught me a lot about life, being a man, and being human. Another real world person, a man named Eddie Rickenbacker is also a long time hero of mine, he was flying Ace and race car driver.

I think everyone should find and have a hero in their life. Heroes are important for those times when things get tough, no one else is around, or you feel the world is conspiring against you. At these times having a hero means having a friend in your corner. Someone who maybe has not been through what you are going through, but you have a fairly good idea how they would handle the situation if they were. They can also act as someone you do not want to disappoint if there is no one in your life at the moment.

By knowing how my hero would probably handle a situation makes it easier not to be indecisive. Knowing what my heroes would probably do, I can handle whatever obstacle is in my path at the moment. My heroes have also unknowingly kept me out of situations that at the time seemed a lot of fun. They may have been fun at the time but they would have been a bad life choice. Of course it is easier to see, having stepped away form the situation and observing it from a detached perspective at a later time.

Having heroes in my life at first was hard, especially when I came to understand that my heroes are also human beings just like I am. They are flesh and blood, and they sometimes make decisions that I have a hard time understanding. They may have made poor decisions, or they have done something I could not imagine they would do or say. It must be tough being someones hero. Being a hero means that so many people look up to you for direction, guidance, and hope. The weight of knowing people always expect you to do the right thing must be a heavy weight to bear.

What my heroes did that many of us are never put in a position to do, is my hero’s have made courageous life altering decisions. A few times choices they were presented with sometimes had terrible options. These men were forced to make the best choice they could live with, not a choice they may have really wanted. There was no easy button for them to to press. Sometimes there was no one they could talk to about what was the right choice, or there was no time to contemplate. They made the best choice they could under the circumstances.

Eddie Rickenbacker was in a terrible accident at one point in his life. There was a fire, and flames were crawling towards him, threatening to burn him alive. He wrote he had two terrible choices – be severely burned and maybe be rescued, or inhale the flames as they reached him, and hope that inhaling the flames killed him quickly. Mohammed Ali found himself at odds with his belief system and the country he loved. Mr Ali’s choices at one time were to become a soldier and fight in a war that he did not support, or believe in, or go to prison. Going to prison also meant giving up his right to the World Champion boxing title he had recently won. May our own life decisions never be that serious.

At times in our lives many of us take on the role of heroes too. Perhaps not at the level of our own biggest and baddest heroes, we are usually heroes in a lesser although equally important role. Perhaps someone who is having a rough spot in their life thinks we can help them with some good direction. Maybe you are a hero some child looks up to because they see you as larger than life? Heroes are people just like us, whether they are in business, sports, singers, or spouses. Although we would like to think our heroes are perfect, just like us, they make mistakes too.

I salute, you the hero you are, for you are somone’s hero, even though you may never know it.

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