Heroes

BRACE YOURSELF!

Even though this story is written from my perspective, I am NOT the main character. I am not the “HERO” we need. I am not the one with the power to save the world nor am I equipped with all the most perfect traits of humility, bravery, strength, or honor. In moments where I am forced to choose between right and wrong, sometimes I have chosen wrong. Sometimes I have stood quietly, unable to respond heroically in the face of adversity. I have watched in silence as another human being suffered, unsure of how to respond… unsure of how my strength or voice could be used to prevent a tragedy from happening. I have misunderstood the Gravity of Danger. How it has the capacity to cost a precious life, and how there are always casualties when hatred is involved. For these reasons, I can say with near certainty that I am probably not the Hero that we are all severely in need of. Despite this, though, I know that I AM SOMEBODY in the Hero’s story and so are you! Perhaps you are the Hero themself and you have the ability to think of others in a way that encompasses their safety alongside your own. It takes so much sacrifice to be the kind of Hero we all need. To be the Hero of anything, any moment, is hard enough… but to be the Hero of Earth and all of its people is another thing. It is Another Level of understanding of Peace, Compassion, Love, and Devotion to the Balance of Equality that I still have trouble comprehending. A “HERO” must be anointed with some special ability to see beyond the constructs of the world as it functions around descriminitive systems and norms...and OUR Hero, for all intents and purposes, must find a way to fulfill the needs of those who are oppressed by these very systems by finding ways to dismantle them. Our Hero represents the epitome of GOOD in the face of Evil. Even if the Hero is the Final Martyr of Righteousness in contrast to the evils of the world, Our Hero (he or she) an army of people also fighting for what is right, too! But whatever our role may be, I know now that I must be an “Ally” to Our Hero when the time arises. The Hero who demonstrates incomprehensible endurance in the face of The Dangers of Evil.

The Dangers of Evil are nothing to take lightly. This is not a fairytale nor is it an anecdotal soliloquy to be read and then tossed aside for the next eternity. No. This is an account of Life Lessons to be Learned and could be helpful to read again and again. DANGER IS REAL. SUFFERING IS REAL. And on this Earth right now, there have been Billions of innocent lives lost and there are Billions of people —children, elders, me and you— in Danger. Evil itself is the most powerful monster to overcome. It is hideous in the way that it can infect individual people and how it can become contagious and lethal. We see this time and time again and we live amidst its monstrous tentacles, avoiding their grip by stepping out of the way when they aim for someone else.

Our Hero knows all of this, probably, and can identify Danger from Lightyears away. For me, though, —and maybe you too— it took a long time to Learn just how lascivious and gruesome the presence of Evil can be. There are NO WORDS that adequately describe the feeling of being caught in the clutches of Evil. How scary, How violating, Confusing, Painful. Lonely, Sickening, and Exploitive Evil is. How I have become familiar with the wicked ways of Evil is a bit sad in its own way but my own suffering gives me the ability to empathize. You see, I don’t want to be just any “Ally”......... but I want to be a “Friend to Our Hero” or “Protector of Our Hero” because I want to be Brave too!

How can I be a friend or protect the Hero if I cannot find them? Impossible. So my first entries in my little Black Book say “1. Find The Hero” and “If I were the Hero, where would I be?”, “What does Our Hero look like?”, “what have Heroes looked like before?”, and “what makes Our Hero THE Hero of us all?”. These questions sparked me to look at everyone in a particular kind of way. To examine actions and words and intentions of myself and others finding heroism in people I would not have previously expected. Unfortunately there can be a gray area between “Good” and “Bad” and the nature of our existence is the perpetual dilemma of CHOOSING which to embody.

In my Quest towards finding Our Hero I saw heroism in a 6 year old girl in Hawaii who walks the land that her Ancestors fought for, bravely singing their ancient chants while wading in the water on the beach where blood was wrongfully once shed. Still fighting to protect her sacred lands. I saw heroism in a Black Woman who spends years of her life making sure that everyone in her community is well fed no matter the cost. Heroism in a Jewish woman descended of triumph through hatred who spoke the story of her childhood in hopes that it can prevent this evil from ever happening again. These particular voices resonate with such a Force of Light that has the power to vanquish all of the Evil in its presence. When I write about these things in my little book, I speculate about whether the word to describe their testimonies is “Love”. People who Battle against monsters of evil —providing shelter from the evils of this world, safe places away from violence, a warm meal on a cold night, friendship to someone who is need, etc— SAVE LIVES and the best of them choose to do so without demanding that others “worship a specific God”, or “conform to certain gender norms”, are “able bodied”, or are a particular race. These heroic people that I have witnessed GIVE what they can from a place so pure that I can only verbalize as “Love”. Love for mankind. Love for children or Family. Love for food and community and making sure that everyone is taken care of. These Heroes demonstrate their philosophies behind how Good Our World SHOULD BE in opposition to how Evil has prevailed and determined how Our World currently operates —on the backs of some, at the leisure of others. I have witnessed such Bravery and Heroism in people of all colors, shapes and sizes, which makes it difficult to predict who and how Our Hero will be. As I think of these Heroic people I wonder “if there can be more than one Hero?!”, since all of them harnessed their own pain to heal others with compassion no matter how stigmatized or descriminated- against they might be. This is written in my little book along with prayers that each of them stays good and safe. I am still not sure what exactly it takes to be Our Hero but I am certain that they would have to be a Master of the Vibration of Love… spreading it in all of the ways that it can be shared, creating a wavelength that is more potent than any evil it comes across. Our Hero will have a heart that beats and Bleeds LOVE. Scribbled in the corner of a page in my little black book I wrote “Love is like Live Music Amplified…”... and I wish I’d written more about what exactly I meant by that.

In contrast, I also journaled about a story of a heroic person I knew who deteriorated into evil ways. He once had a kind and giving spirit. He always had an interest in meeting new people and listening to what they have to say. Unfortunately, a certain time arose in his life where he battled with his own inner monsters/insecurities and leaned upon the wrong kind of people for guidance. Instead of keeping his mind open, he conformed to their social requirements and began belittling everyone who did not fit in to their confines. He forgot about Kindness and in subscribing to descriminating ways, he cut himself off from the circulation of goodness. Sometimes this lesson is resolved and learned and maybe he will be connected to GOOD again…. but, for the time being, he is choosing to be a monster of evil by making Life harder and more painful for some to experience than others. This is a difficult challenge to face, and we all go through it on some Level. If he ends up changing into a kind person again, then He could be the Hero of his own life and his story could help those who have also been led astray…. though, sadly, it is likely that he will become a Monster Forever.

With the world as it currently spins, it is impossible to escape being surrounded by Evil. We are all descended of it as Earthlings. No matter how much good there has been, we are descended of violence and hatred that prevailed for the sake of acquiring Land, or resources, or power. I am descended of human beings who were stolen and traded for rum in exchange for Lifetimes and generations of excruciating servitude. That was Evil. And this evil still tells

me that my story is unworthy of being told because of the color of my skin. The same evil that indoctrinated some men into seeing women as objects. The same evil that decides that one person’s life is worth more than another and that some people deserve better opportunities or access to resources than others. These are more societal evils that I speak of but one of my journal entries briefly speak about experiencing Evil on an interpersonal level and it reads as follows:

“I was trapped and snared by a monster of evil once as a child and again a few months ago as an adult. The weight and toxicity of that feeling is indescribable and can only be expressed in the Language of Tears”.

This was the entry that changed everything for me. I remember that, as I wrote it, I was feeling so hopeless and so helpless against the evil that was forcibly imposed upon me. Me. An “Adult”. Helpless. This moment changed my Life trajectory forever because I decided that I wanted to be some kind of Hero, too, like those people who speak up. Like the people who fight for what’s right against all odds. If I feel helpless, then imagine what a child must feel against a monster of evil. Or someone who can’t speak for themself, yet. Or someone who is still communicating through tears. Though I am not “THE Hero”, I have to be heroic too!

The last entry in my book is about a friend I knew from middle school. We are adults now but I have watched him grow in kindness every day. He has chosen to be brave for his family when they needed him to be. He was even brave for me in ways that I have not known. This entry talks about the day that he bravely spoke to an auditorium of people after winning a 20,000 dollar scholarship to study how to further help people in the field of psychology. It was not the ending I expected. Of course I wanted to be the winner of the heroic windfall of wealth, as anyone would. But I stood happily cheering because I could feel the Love and heroism radiating in the room and, although I was not the Hero of this moment, I WAS “A Hero’s Friend”.

Today I am certain that we all can be Heroes