How To Be A Hero in 2014
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Pie...I like Pie...I mean who doesn't. Baring no run-ins with anaphylaxis, or un-patriotism no soul can rebut the restorative, healing powers of crust & filling on a plate with a fork. Don't get lost or misunderstand that I am strictly talking about the delectable desert. This not a metaphor and not convoluted in any way. I just think about pie often. This is something I like. Which is why I'm talking about it. We often talk about things we like, because we want people to know we like them, and we want to know what other people like and want people to like what we like. We want people to like us at the root of it. Sometimes we want people to like us so bad that we are willing to allow this urge to extensively effect how we look at ourselves, and how we identify ourselves.
My favorite author and playwright Oscar Wilde said, "be yourself, because everyone else is taken." This is a comment on identity, (well put if you ask me). This is a proposition that within each and every person, there is an identity. Indeed it poses that each of us have our own analytical, cognition that results in an entity that is. We are what we identify ourselves as and exist represented by our identity which is absorbed by the senses of those around us. A unique "face" that we can be, one that is under our control. There may be debate, weighing the old "nature vs. nurture", but I'd like to bypass that because it is irrelevant to this topic. That is identity, who you are presently, will be tomorrow, and for as long as you live; and why.
As the year comes to an end we all get older, some happily, some regrettably. We reflect on a year of growth, recession, gains and losses. Love, lovers, hate, and haters. Its no lie that we are in unprecedented times. Our ever changing societal, political, communal and social structures and connections make internal and external reflection more crucial, and more difficult at the same time. Not to mention this problem is exacerbated by technology, social media, and communication that is instant, and restricted by nothing. This world is one that our planet has never seen (I think). Even as I sit here typing there is an inefficient government watching, an economy scaring me, and I still have to worry about who I am. 30 years ago "20 somethings" had all the time in the world to figure out who they were. Now we are just lucky to find a decent paying job from a corporation who we pay more taxes than, and rent an apartment, borrowing money from a bank whose interest rates our lower than our undergrad loan rates.
So our brain power may be appropriated to other matters, while our identity takes the backseat, and we end up fitting cookie cutter molds and having love hate relationships with our favorite bountifully "booty-licious" bodacious bodied beautician and living vicariously through her husband.(I miss Jesus) Were will identity go in 2014? (if there is any left).
I want to put the emphasis on the word Hero. A hero is a role, the Paladin. To be known as a hero requires the bearer to exhibit certain characteristics; bravery, courage, splenduor. It is not too vain to say that most of us want to be seen as Heroic. I will go out on a limb and say that there is a Hero in every one of us. In 2014 it is time to bring it out. Being a hero in 2014 is all about YOU. Its all about being YOU.
Step 1: Do You
Its time to forget what Sally, Suzy, Tim, Tyrell, and Tina want you to do, and what they want you to be. Do what makes you happy. And if you don't know yet, find what makes you happy. Rule of thumb; certain people, things and actions have an effect on you. Look deep inside, it may take a moment of just siting and making a "Things I like vs. Things I don't like" List, or just thinking alone, out loud, with your roommate. Try a close friend, a shrink or a mailman. They might know a little about what you like, because they've seen your smiles. You might find out that you enjoy talking to the T-Mobile costumer service girl for hours, do that!
Step 2: Lend a Helping Hand
After you do what you like. Do for someone else. This means taking one damn second away from your busy Netflix filled life, and trying to help a fellow woman or man. Any way will do. It is not a secret that making others feel good by your actions may just may make you feel good. No you will not receive money for helping that old Lady across the street or helping her take her bags in, but it can't hurt. I'm sure smiling at the person who hands you your Doritos Locos Taco at the mall won't end in you getting bitten. And if it does do the American thing and sue, (help a Lawyer out). This step means simply make a conscious effort to make someone's day better, and you are on your way to glory. Try volunteering, try "FREE HUGS" signs, Walk up to a random person and give them a dollar, write nice letters or on greeting cards to important people in your 2013 life. Get your significant other some flowers or a massage if your frugal like me. Go do it now, you can come back later and read the rest.
Step3: Question
The last and final step is to question. ASK A QUESTION. Every day we sit and like robots accept, and blabber. We breathe and stuff food in that same breathing hole using claws with thumbs attached to the sides. In the new year ask why, or how, about something that either doesn't add up, or about something you've always been so sure of. At a time were Rupert Murdock and 6 families pull the strings of journalism, and people are so fashioned to take whatever an authority says as factual, we must make a habit of inquisitiveness. Leonardo DaVinci said, "nothing strengthens authority more than silence".
I'm going to guess that you have some beef with someone or something. Whether its Obama, or Congress, your teacher, or Mephistopheles, don't let your issue go unaddressed. If its with your partner or just a friend ask questions. Now I warn you don't get into the habit of just saying you don't like something. Find out what you don't like, why, and what you can do to help fix this. Activate yourself! Start your own revolution! You may just want to ask questions to yourself. Maybe there is something you want to have a better understanding of, but you fear the implications it may bring. Don't allow this, a question asked and not answered is better than eating pie you are allergic to.
So my friend...In 2014 will you have what it takes to be a Hero. All you have to do is be yourself. It may sound cliché, but that's because I'm being myself, I am a bunch of clichés. So remember, do what you love no matter what others think. [Disclaimer: This is not a post inciting any person to break the law. The advise only means to entice actions that are within the limits of the law, and enjoyable.] Do something for another human. Make a promise to yourself that you will help better one person's day other than yourself in 2014. And last but not least, ask a question. Ask a question you've never asked. Then go find the answer, or just reflect on what the question means. Don't be naïve in 2014.
If you follow these steps, you have made an effort to be yourself. You have become a hero. We all cannot be the idol of a nation like George Washington, or change a world like Nelson Mandela. We cannot all be Ghandi, or Susan B. Anthony, Jackie Robinson, or Harriet Tubman. But that's because we are better off being who we are. These people were being who they were, and their identities were good enough to bend structures, systems, and the wills of people around them. I bet your identity is just as good. If you take a chance and embrace it... If you like pie, just like pie. I know I do.
