Heroes

Just about anyone can quickly name off a hero of theirs and just as
quickly give you a few reasons why they are a hero. They can recall
tales and stories, some are true and some only have truth in the eyes
of the one telling the tale. I suppose in the end one truth is just
as good as another. Because it doesn't matter if the story really
happened or not, it doesn't even matter if the hero named is a real
person or a character in a book. What matters is that it inspired
the heart and soul of others. It may have given them hope or
knowledge, or understanding when all else failed.
Many of the heroes today are quite different from the heroes of old.
One does not have to be a great warrior, a demigod, or even wise to
become a hero these days. No, today anyone can be a hero and all you
need to become one is for someone else to vouch for you.
I think that the one detail about a persons character, be they
fiction or real, that makes them a true hero is the fact that they
have weaknesses. That in all their gifts and powers they are still
challenged and we are allowed to witness their trials and see them
overcome the most impossible situations. We watch their story unfold
so closely that we feel as if we are part of the telling. We find
ourselves following them, emulating them at times, and always looking
to them for our own inspiration. They become part of us in ways that
no other can. And it could be said that a scrap of their spirit now
dwells in our own. A muse backed by the idea that when we come to
trials in our own lives it seems to parallel the life of our hero and
we recall what they went through, how they reacted, and how they
pushed through against all odds.
One of my own long time heroes is nothing more than a fictional
character. But I could tell you countless stories of his life. I can
tell you who he fought, who he loved, who he lost… I can tell you
about it all. I can tell you all about his strengths, I can tell you
his weaknesses, and I can tell you how he has influenced the forging
of who I am in so many ways that you might think I was mad.
It's this same figure that gifted me a love of history, philosophy,
art, religion, antiques, and even Shakespeare. I saw the world
through his eyes. I saw history unfold in ways no book would allow
the eyes to see. This character inspired me into martial arts and
actually learning how to use a sword beyond the idea of just saying
that I know how. And after years of training to fight with him as my
constant inspiration I ended that training by being gifted an
authentic replica of his sword. A sword that is dearer to me than
anything because I went through the trials of actually earning it. A
challenge I took on so long ago I can't even recall the exact year I
started. But I do know that I was gifted the sword when I was only
sixteen. It's the only possession from those years that I still have
with me. If fact, it is presently setting within arms reach. Not
because I need it for protection but because something he said a very
long time ago has been echoing in my mind. "Keep it close. Make it
part of you. It may be the only true friend you have."
This figure from my teen years is still as much an influence on me
today as he was back then. He has become so ingrained into my own
life that even the way I like to dress is reminiscent of his person.
This same person inspired the code of honor that I wrote and have
received great support and reviews on. I could even lend him credit
for how I write, what I write, and how I put it out there for the
world to read. The things he knew seeded the knowledge that I have
now. At one time I wanted what many people with a hero wants, to
become the hero myself.
Of course I didn't. Instead I celebrated my own identity. And once
again I was mused to do this with a lesson of the same sword. "I told
you to make it part of you. But you can not do that when you do not
know who you are."
It's odd how life unfolds in ways that new and bigger challenges come
along to confront us. Sometimes when they do we can't go forward to
find the answers. We have to go back to the basics, back to our
roots. We have to take the time to relay our foundations so that we
can once again stand strong and like our heroes from the past,
overcome the most impossible situations. But at the same time we
should never forget the people who are here in the present and how
they helped us…or how they hurt us. Either way they taught us
something about ourselves because other people make excellent mirrors
and sometimes they can be a good example of what not to become. With
heroes come villains and without villains there wouldn't be much of a
story to tell.
Heroes are the self-sacrificing ones. While villains are those with
hidden agendas and unyielding natures whose one and only obsession is
themselves. Up on that pedestal it is hard to tell fiction from
reality. But some people can't handle reality so they are probably
better off in a self-made world where they appear to be strong and
untouchable. It's the same downfall of every villain. Because sooner
or later they loose their balance or get called out and their little
world comes crashing down.
I should probably be thankful that I am down here on my foundations
rather than with my head in the clouds. In light of current events I
know that I have a lot of self-sacrifices to make in the near future
in order to have a future at all. It wont be comfortable, it wont be
anything to celebrate about, and it will be a rather humbling
experience I think. An impossible situation where the only way to
defeat it all is through self-sacrifice but I take comfort in the
shallow thought that when this story unfolds to all the telling there
will be a lot less villains around to see the final chapter and in
all reality there is one person out there who I owe nothing less but
my absolute best to. I swear to you all here and now that I wont let
her down because she has more faith in me than anyone has ever found.
If I can repay that faith…then and only then will I be a true hero
myself.
We may have come to the part of the story where the reader
thinks, "This is it! There is NO WAY that he can make it out of this
situation alive." It's odd how we can read a book or watch a story
unfolding and have this very thought about the main character. That
one single moment of doubt seems to creep into our minds even though
we know that the story is far from being over. And we just might be
coming to the part where we see a different kind of hero return to
the story to lend a hand when everyone else has turned their backs or
ran away for whatever reason.
Or…maybe I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.
Either way, take comfort in the fact that I, like my age old hero,
have a hard time dieing and my sword is still as sharp as it was the
day I got it.

Angel Snowden - 2006