Here are eight characteristics of a hero:
1. Heroes are unexpected. Most of us expect heroes to be charming, muscular, and confident, but that’s not always the case. Often, the real heroes are hiding in obscurity, waiting for the time when their heroism is needed and comes to the fore. 2. Heroes are unknown. Real heroes often work quietly in the background somewhere. They aren’t famous, but rather unknown. They may be dreaming of adventure, while slightly scared of the cost. 3. Heroes are ordinary. Some heroes may even seem like “losers” in the eyes of some. They may be mopping floors somewhere, complete with dorky suspenders and awkward social skills. 4. Heroes become heroes through adversity. A hero’s skills are often untested, but conflict draws out their courage. 5. Heroes show up at the 11th hour. It’s not until the last moment when all hope seems lost that a hero distinguishes himself from the rest of the pack. Heroes surprise us. 6. Heroes push through the fear. They live what we know as true—that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the facing of it. They acknowledge their feelings, but rise above them. 7. Heroes fight for others. Heroes emerge when the innocent are in peril. Heroes fight, not because they want to, but because those whom they love need their help. They may even feel reluctant, but when things get tough, they emerge ready to fight. 8. Heroes are prepared to sacrifice. Heroes often have to make a conscious effort to give up something so that others can be better off. They may have to risk losing their free time, social status, economic advantage or wealth, comfort or security, or even their life. They are willing to give up something personal to achieve something greater. What happens when you read this list? Do you find yourself identifying with the prospect of being a hero? Do you get excited? The reason that we love to hear stories about heroes is that they speak to something deep inside of us. They not only inspire, but also teach us that anyone can be a hero. If you want to read about true to life unsung heroes go to http://radgiving.weebly.com/ and read the blog and update pages.
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“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein
"A happy ending depends on where you stop your story." — Orson Welles “Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.” — Art Linkletter “People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives.” — Stedman Graham “The greatest good you can do for another is not just your riches, but reveal to them their own.” — Disraeli “It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” — Jim Rohn “It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.” — E.E. Cummings “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” — General Patton “Freedom is the right to be wrong; not the right to do wrong.” — John G. Diefenbaker Quote of the day:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness" -- Author unknown Think about it: I got my finger stuck to a paperclip with some super glue and no matter what I did I couldn’t separate my finger from the paperclip until I stopped and gently preyed the paperclip from my finger. It reminded me of this story of a father who introduced his children this way: "This is Pete. He's the clumsy one of the lot." "That's Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She's the sloppy one." "As always, Mike's last. He'll be late for his own funeral, I promise you." The dad did a thorough job of gluing his children to their faults and mistakes. People do it to us and we do it to those we love all the time. They remind us of our failures, our errors, our sins, and they won't let us live them down. There are people who try, sometimes desperately, to free themselves from their past who would love a chance to begin again. When we don't let people forget their past, when we don't forgive, we glue them to their mistakes and refuse to see them as more than something they have done. However, when we forgive, we gently pry the doer of the hurtful deed from the deed itself, and we say that the past is just that-past--over and done with. Are you glued to something in your past or are you gluing others to their past? Try gently prying it apart with forgiveness setting you and them free. By Christina Carlino, adapted excerpts from her blog
Here’s how you can inspire your child to find the hero within: 1.Talk about your heroes. The people I have always looked up to are those willing to put themselves out on the line to help others. Talking about your icons of courage with your children is a way of sharing your dreams and giving them insight into who you were when growing up. It’s also a lovely way to communicate to your kids that they can have big dreams about who they want to be, too. 2. Don’t judge who they choose as heroes. So maybe we’d prefer our daughter to admire a national hero over a celebrity. But try not to show your disappointment and celebrate the positive aspects of her choice instead. For example, you can point out that the celebrity certainly worked hard to become such a successful star—that kind of commitment is what it took to reach her level of accomplishment. 3.Show that heroes are human. Even those who act in courageous ways don’t always do everything perfectly. Sometimes they fail, and sometimes they make poorly informed decisions. This is something that’s essential for kids to understand. 4. Praise your child when he acts heroically. If he stands up for his friend against a playground bully, tell him you’re proud of the courage he showed and the example he set for all his friends. You can also connect his positive actions to a hero you admire. By aligning your child with heroes we all admire, you give him the vision and support to become the greatest person he can be –and to find the hero within. “Soon is not as good as now.”—Seth Godin
“It is important to realize that action is the key to making positive changes. Without action, knowledge is lost.” —Norman Vincent Peale. “We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way.” — John Holt “Inspiration comes of working every day.” — Charles Baudelaire “Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.” —Ted Williams “Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised.” — Denis Waitley “It's always too early to quit.” — Normal Vincent Peale “If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job.” — Malcolm S. Forbes “I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we’re not wise enough to see it.” — Oprah Winfrey “When you feel pain, you know that you are still alive.” — Bruce Lee “Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” — Richard L. Evans Quote of the day:
“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.” — Voltaire Think about it: Many years ago, some of the most terrifying scenes on the big screen were when someone stepped into quicksand. No movie was complete until the hero had rescued some innocent soul from certain death in that awful ooze, or the villain’s final breath had gurgled to the surface. Like quicksand, problems sometimes threaten to suck us under. The harder we struggle, the deeper we sink. But things are rarely as bad as they seem. Laws of physics make it nearly impossible for a person to sink more than about waist deep in real-life quicksand. It may be difficult and take awhile to get unstuck, but the person won’t go all the way under. Likewise, those who have faith and a positive attitude can only sink so low or stay so long entangled in their problems. When we Google “how to escape from quicksand,” we will find a few pointers that, when put together, form a basic plan. Those points can also help us approach problems in life in a positive way. They go something like this: • Don’t panic. Panicking will only cause us to sink deeper. Try to relax. • Shed unnecessary weights. Major on the majors and don’t let less urgent things distract. • Ask for help. Don’t try to solve every problem alone. • Be patient. Slow, deliberate actions produce better results than frantic activity. • Rest periodically. Clearing our mind and thinking positively help put things in perspective. Next time you feel like you are sinking in quicksand remember these principles. By Christina Carlino, adapted excerpts from her blog
I watched as a parade of fairies, princesses, kitty cats, and other character-look-alikes pranced by my front window.—And then came my daughter. Dressed in camouflage fatigues and desert boots, a smudge of charcoal under each eye, my girl looked every bit the soldier. When she ran up to me and told me she wanted to protect me, I suddenly remembered the intention of her costume: My nine-year-old wanted to be a hero. I had to laugh. As a child, I adored Superman, the Bionic Woman, Mother Teresa, Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music”, and TV doctors. As different as these idols may seem to some, to me they were all profoundly connected. In my mind, all of these folks were heroes—people helping other people. My daughter and I have had so many conversations about heroes. I tell her that I look up to those who teach me about courage, about standing up for the weak, about giving a voice to the voiceless. A hero shows me a better way to live my own life, and inspires me to push myself beyond my boundaries, to open my heart to those who may be nothing like me, and to offer my help whenever I can. When my daughter and I talk together about those we think of as heroes, I notice that her lovely brown eyes begin to shine. She revels in the idea of helping people or caring for animals. Her learning about heroes has made that her aspiration. If she sees a wounded bird, she wants to nurse it back to health. Whenever an elderly friend of ours comes to visit our house, my daughter always walks her back to her car and makes sure she is safely buckled up. I have seen first-hand how vital heroes are to our children’s lives. For my little girl, they encourage her to dream about the person that she hopes to be someday, and they remind me of the compassionate, loving hero she already is right now. Are you teaching your children to be heroes? Next Friday, Sept. 22nd I will be posting ways to inspire your child to find the hero within them. And Friday, Sept. 29th I will be posting Eight Characteristics of a Hero. Don’t miss them. Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with. — Brodi Ashton
A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer. — Ralph Waldo Emerson A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. — Christopher Reeve Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the hero within us is revealed. — Bob Riley A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares. — Debi Mazar The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. —An immense difference.—Henry Miller I think that we all do heroic things, but hero is not a noun, it’s a verb. —Robert Downey, Jr. A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer. —Novalis A hero is a man who does what he can. —Romain Rolland A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. —Joseph Campbell How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! —Maya Angelou Quote of the day:
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” —Maya Angelou Think about it: My friend sent me this tribute to her husband and it got me thinking about heroes. It read, “My husband is one of those unsung, necessary-to-the-community workers who doesn’t get noticed until he’s not there. He’s a commercial/industrial Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) technician, serving hospitals, businesses, schools, etc. On this very hot, 95°-Fahrenheit day, his 63-year-old self is on a broiling rooftop with 1/2 gallon of homemade electrolyte rehydration drink I concocted yesterday. Last night he paid an emergency visit to a boiler room where he estimated the temperature at 135 degrees. He’s been doing this for close to 40 years, often for companies who failed to heed his advice and plan for system maintenance and replacement during cooler weather, which here is about 75% of the year. So if today, or any other day, you are working somewhere in air-conditioned comfort (and warm comfort in winter, when my husband works outside in raw and wet weather), please spare a kind thought for the unseen people who make it possible.” After reading this, you probably guessed it. The next few post are dedicated to heroes, both the famous and the unsung, everyday heroes that we so often take for granted, or fail to appreciate and recognize. There is always one thing that heroes have in common: They use their gifts, talents, and abilities to help others, and make the world a better place. That may put you into the hero category, too! So here’s to all heroes, both known and unknown, recognized and unrecognized! Thank you for making our lives better in some way. If you want to read more about unsung heroes go to http://radgiving.weebly.com/ and read the update and blog pages. By Dulcinea Fox
These days life is full of uncertainty for lots of people including me. I was lamenting this reality to a friend the other day, when she said, “Maybe you just need to embrace the chaos.” Embrace the chaos? Easier said than done. I don’t like chaos. I don’t know many people who do. But it got me thinking. A few days later I was about 30 minutes into my daily run when, after a few sudden claps of thunder, I found myself in pouring rain. And I mean pouring. There was no shelter in sight, so it seemed my only option was to make a dash for home. I drew a deep breath, and of I went. About five minutes down the road I was struck by a sudden succession of thoughts. Why was I running so frantically? And what was I running from? I was already drenched. My clothes had reached the saturation point. It wasn’t like getting home more quickly would get me home any drier. Suddenly, fussing about getting wet seemed kind of stupid. I reconsidered my options. Embrace the chaos! I stopped sprinting and focused on enjoying the thunder and lightning, the torrential rains, the gorges, the rushing stream that was once a path—all of it. It was exhilarating! Until that point I had been bemoaning my sorry, sopping state—my wet, clingy, uncomfortable clothes; the hair plastered annoyingly to my face and neck; the thoroughly soaked shoes that squish-squashed with every step. But as soon as I accepted that there was no alternative, I was able to surrender to the elements, relax, and even enjoy the walk home. There are some things that we just can’t avoid. Like a little chaos. Life has a way of backing us against a wall. But if we can stop fighting what we can’t change and accept the situation for what it is, we put ourselves in a better position to make the most of it. (Adapted from Activated magazine) |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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