Ricochet: The Surfing Dog!
August-September, 2010
Autumn is a Second Spring
(When every leaf's a flower)
~Albert Camus
"Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!”
~John Irving
Ode to the Unsung Hero
B Y R U S S N ' J U S T
As every person knows, it is one thing to dream about the life we believe we want and quite another creating it. The margin between success and failure often depends upon our own ability to cope with unseen forces and invariably, how we choose to define our reality. For this reason we constantly measure our progress, traversing the borders between chaos and order, trying to stay one step ahead of the fates. The threat of losing control of life situations and how we cope with chaos is a source of fear everyone on the planet struggles with time and time again.
For this reason, human beings have always looked to leaders, way-showers, avatars, teachers, entertainers, roll-models, heroes and people of authority and expertise to tell us what to believe and how to cope with life. Never before have we looked to icons, stars and super heroes for inspiration and guidance as we do today. One theory is that we’re experiencing symptoms of the current unrest and self-denial that shrouds our awareness, prior to the re-awakening of our authentic selves. The truth is we can’t see the whole story, so we busy ourselves with writing our own versions as we go.
Beguiled by our inhibitions, we look to one-another’s dreams and aspirations, comparing ourselves or adopting another’s success as our own, hoping to become more valuable in the eyes of others. Being validated by others is one of the ways we cope with self-worth issues and low self-esteem. In the true sense of the phrase, we live in a “house of mirrors,” hoping the image we adopt will somehow appease the needs and desires that feed our un-conscious drives.
Looking at the world today, one is easily tempted to become cynical, aloof, judgmental, fearful or negative. It looks as though everything we once believed in is based on lies, illusion and deceit. If we are to believe what the teachings say, this is the illusion of separation that will ultimately birth our reconnection to oneness. It is a most fearful process, to let go of everything we once believed in and yet, most people are able to find renewed value and hope in their hour of need. Why is that? According to spiritual teachings it is because we are so attuned and connected to one another that we intuitively realize that what happens to one affects all others. This realization then becomes our guiding light in times of darkness. All teachings agree that is our ability to feel compassion that determines the degree and speed of our awakening; that our feelings of compassion to others as well as ourselves, spread like rings of light on an ocean of consciousness, ultimately affecting all life.
As we continue in our awakening process, we begin to sense that it is our personal responsibility to consciously create what we truly desire. But as many people have discovered, there is no way of knowing beforehand, if what we believe we desire will get us what we truly want. We will only know the implications of our creations, when we see and feel the results of our thoughts, words and deeds. With this awareness we are afforded the opportunity to seek understanding within ourselves; to find what we paradoxically refer to as the meaning of life. However, many of us have begun to realize that it is up to each of us as individuals, to define meaning in our lives. We are realizing that our evolution depends upon acceptance of our individual sovereignty, which in turn makes each of us the sole authority of our lives. This becomes both a fearful and a liberating realization for most people because it means accepting responsibility for everything that we create.
Following this line of thought, who then is the super hero that is going to overcome all odds and save us from our perceived enemies? We look to the film and entertainment industry for guidance and inspiration, when they are in fact mirroring our own changing values and our quest for enlightenment. In a true sense, the hero we perceive on the big screen is that part of ourselves seeking recognition within. Recognizing this, we don’t have to look very far to find persons that embody the courage, perseverance, righteousness, strength and fortitude that we admire in our projections on the big screen. It could very well be the people you live with, work with or admire in your daily lives. It could be a friend, a spouse, a family member, a child, a work relation or even an enemy you have yet to recognize within yourself. It could ultimately be the real you, without you acknowledging it. Simply existing on the planet at this time demands super-human qualities; powers enabling us to discover the hero within, who is willing and able to overcome all setbacks, all heartaches and all obstacles.
I have often found myself in situations that revealed to me (and therefore in me) the “best” as well as the “worst” in human conditioning. I’m currently working for a non-profit organization/center that promotes volunteer social work in the community, to help others who are experiencing a life crisis in one way of another, for example; serious illness, disability, loss of loved ones, divorce, violence, loss of job, poverty, homelessness, stress, mental illness and misuse on all levels.
On a daily basis, I’m privileged to witness how the worst in people becomes transformed by the best in them. I see genuine acts of compassion every day and true acts of heroism. I’m not referring to heroism that is rewarded in some manner, worshipped or even validated. It is a heroism that recognizes suffering and hardship and responds with compassion, when others choose not to or don’t believe that they can. These “heroes” are not getting paid to help out, nor do they seek compensation for their efforts. They are recognizing they are part of the human condition, a member of the human family and that their efforts to make a difference do succeed as their love, faith and perseverance grows.
The beautiful thing is witnessing how people become “heroes” and “heroes” become people. It is compassion that empowers a person to act on the behalf of another, and the “hero” that is called to the fore, rediscovers the strength and beauty of their humanity. It is the courage to rise above ones fears and judgments, acting in spite of weakness and self-rebuttal that comes with recognition of the “hero” within us. In time we come to acknowledge that the “hero” we perceive as our protector and savior is really us, calling out to ourselves.
We admire our “heroes” on stage or on the big screen and we wish we had the talent, the courage and the drive to do what they do. While they play the rolls and sing the songs that inspire us to dream our dreams, most of us live our lives in more or less obscurity, hoping and maybe struggling to survive on a daily basis. Although it is up to each of us to define what we believe to be true, we are also here to help one another. Therefore I sincerely wish to remind you now, that although you may be an “un-sung hero” you are a hero in the eyes of the beloved, nonetheless. You may not be in the lime-light, but you certainly are in the light. You may not be a star on the silver screen, but there is an unborn star ablaze within you. You may never know it but you can be sure that somewhere, somehow, you are somebody’s hero.
Copyright, 2010. By Russ N'Just. All Rights Reserved. For more of Russ' Work, visit our "Reader's Contributions" Sector. Many thanks to this find artist!
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