“The decision to act heroically is a choice that many of us will be called upon at some point in time.”
~Dr. Philip Zimbardo
In a society where there is much of a need for desperate help and assistance, heroes emerged and showed the world that one may not be too small to make a difference.
For the CNN Heroes awarded the past few years, it was very noticeable that all of them had been aware that their respective communities are endowed with perennial problems that needed action. It was a point in time where they were left with a choice to do nothing to solve the problem or to step up and address the situation. All of them choose the later with a positive view that anyone could all be heroes if we choose to do what is right and if we choose to effect positive and lasting change despite the sacrifices it may bring along.
In 2008, Liz MaCartney saw how Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of so many people so she gathered the people together for help. In 2009, Efren Penaflorida saw that there is an emerging need for education and good values with the growing number of children in the slums so he went on pushing his cart, bringing education to the kids in the slums. Year 2010, Anuradha Koirala saw that women should be empowered and respected by ending sex slavery in her country, and just recently, Robin Lim, a FilAm, saw that the 200,000 women who died a year due to pregnancy related problems, deserve to be protected and taken care of. They were all able to see that something was wrong or lacking and someone has to do something about it-- and in fact, they did.
Margaret Mead once said that we should “never believe that a few caring people can ever change the world, for in the end, that’s all who ever have.”
These people who made the decision to act heroically are the same people who change the world day by day through patches of hope that creates ripples of effect that may be able to reach all the ends of the earth. They are and they should be an inspiration that shall help others decide to do good deeds to the next person beside them and to the rest of the world.
I personally believe that all of us are heroes yet to be unleashed. With a dedicated heart and a positive spirit, we can all resolve to be heroes that shall uplift our country, who’s sadly in despair. We may not be able to heal millions of sick people or educate millions of out-of-school, but we, on our own little ways can at least be a less burden to the society by living a life of service through dwelling on our strengths and radiating its energy to a more productive endeavor.
There are millions of unrecognized heroes in all corners of the earth: a whistle blower who just had exposed a tremendous corruption anomaly, a taxi driver who had returned a bag with 50,000 cash, a government official who had refused to accept a bribe and a poor man who saved lives on fire. These are ordinary people who are caught up in extraordinary situations. They were left with a choice to be a hero or just to be someone of the norm-- and they choose what matters most.
The good news is that, we too can be heroes—and it’s just a matter of choice.
