Heroes
Who are your heroes? The people you look up to, admire from a distance or aspire to be like. Do you have heroes? If so, are they famous people or “normal” people? These are some of the questions that have been running through my mind since listening to a Toastmaster’s speech given by my father on the weekend.
The first names that came to my mind were mainly sportsmen and women – cricketers, footballers, Olympians. I love watching sport, and I get the greatest enjoyment out of watching how people of similar skill levels perform quite differently in pressure situations. I believe sport at an elite level is a mental game – most elite sportspeople have the skills required – it’s just a question of who has the mental toughness to produce those skills when needed. Watching people produce their very best under extreme pressure encourages me to think that I, too, can do it – not in the sporting arena, but in life in general – I just need the right mental attitude.
Then I thought of my grandad – and particularly of comments mum had made after she spent some time in his hometown just before and after his death. She was surprised at the number of people who had stories to tell of how he’d helped them out – mainly just little things, but they’d been greatly appreciated. He was someone who shared himself with other people – his resources, abilities and time.
There is another group of people who have my admiration – they are those folk who are able to take everything life has thrown at them, and still come up with a smile and a positive attitude to life. The people who when they are diagnosed with a serious illness don’t say “why me?”, but say “why not me?” and get on with fighting it. Those elderly folk at church who, although they have many struggles with health, finances, etc, are always ready with a smile or a hug. People who can find the silver lining in any cloud.
There is a danger in having heroes, though, that was mentioned in a sermon a few weeks ago. Someone went up to Dorothy Day (a Catholic activist) and said how much they admired her, that they considered her to be a saint. Her response was quite blunt and challenging – basically she said that you consider me to be a saint and by doing so, excuse yourself from doing the things I am doing. If we regard our heroes as in some way superhuman and put them on too high a pedestal, then their actions no longer inspire us to be the best that we can be, but excuse us from making the effort.
The first names that came to my mind were mainly sportsmen and women – cricketers, footballers, Olympians. I love watching sport, and I get the greatest enjoyment out of watching how people of similar skill levels perform quite differently in pressure situations. I believe sport at an elite level is a mental game – most elite sportspeople have the skills required – it’s just a question of who has the mental toughness to produce those skills when needed. Watching people produce their very best under extreme pressure encourages me to think that I, too, can do it – not in the sporting arena, but in life in general – I just need the right mental attitude.
Then I thought of my grandad – and particularly of comments mum had made after she spent some time in his hometown just before and after his death. She was surprised at the number of people who had stories to tell of how he’d helped them out – mainly just little things, but they’d been greatly appreciated. He was someone who shared himself with other people – his resources, abilities and time.
There is another group of people who have my admiration – they are those folk who are able to take everything life has thrown at them, and still come up with a smile and a positive attitude to life. The people who when they are diagnosed with a serious illness don’t say “why me?”, but say “why not me?” and get on with fighting it. Those elderly folk at church who, although they have many struggles with health, finances, etc, are always ready with a smile or a hug. People who can find the silver lining in any cloud.
There is a danger in having heroes, though, that was mentioned in a sermon a few weeks ago. Someone went up to Dorothy Day (a Catholic activist) and said how much they admired her, that they considered her to be a saint. Her response was quite blunt and challenging – basically she said that you consider me to be a saint and by doing so, excuse yourself from doing the things I am doing. If we regard our heroes as in some way superhuman and put them on too high a pedestal, then their actions no longer inspire us to be the best that we can be, but excuse us from making the effort.
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