Dear Pinkies, please welcome back my Pink Mom Trish Rankin, here with some insight on heroes. Thank you, Mommy, for reminding us all that we are brave and powerful. Take it away ....

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Heroes in the world

Recently, in Time Magazine, I read an article about heroes. When the world seems to be falling apart, when the stock market is scaring us, as we watch our retirement accounts dwindle, as people we know continue to get laid off, when Haiti is trying to dig out of one of the worst earthquakes of this century, while New Orleans is still rebuilding, we seek heroes to alleviate the terrible news that gnaws at our soul daily on the television, newspaper and tabloids.

The article shared the story of Susan Boyle, who was deprived of oxygen at birth and could have given up on her dream of singing for the world, but her tenacity came from the confidence her elderly mother instilled in her during her childhood. Susan, deemed the “Hairy Angel” in the magazines, proved to be a hero because of her persistence, her persistence, and pure raw guts. Mocked and jeered, she didn’t give up or give in. That is the stuff of heroes.

When his plane flew into a gaggle of geese, taking out both engines, Captain Sully Sullenberger walked down entire wing of his sinking airplane, checking to make sure each person had safely disembarked before he and his crew sought sanctuary. When asked about this by reporters, he merely replied, “We were just doing our job.” He didn’t say he had trained his whole life for just that one moment in time, taking crisis psychology classes to handle people during an emergency, learning not only to be available, but to be ready. He could have been my next-door neighbor, or yours. Nothing distinguished him as particularly extraordinary; however, his humble act of bravery inspired the president to call him personally to congratulate his safe landing.

Or what about Captain Richard Phillips, who gave himself over to the pirates hijacking his ship to save his crew? Held for five days before the Navy SEALS saved him, he certainly didn’t think what he did was remarkable. Instead he publicly proclaimed the SEALS as the real heroes.

Heroes in our lives

My daughter Lissa was a hero to someone last week- a man on a bicycle who was hit by a car. She stopped, checked him out the best she could without any medical supplies, and then held him in her arms, stroking his hair, reassuring him of his well-being as shock overtook his rational thinking. I’m certain that once he recovered from his shock, he told others of his anonymous lady hero.

Recently, a former neighbor of mine lost his home to fire. He got out safely, but soon realized his three beloved dogs were trapped in their cages inside. Some say he was foolish to run back in to try to save his animals, suffering second-degree burns on his face and hands, but if you were one of the dogs, you would have called him your hero. It was a selfless act of devotion.

What is a hero?

So what does it take to be a hero in the eyes of the world? The dictionary defines “hero” as “someone who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown great courage, strength of character, or some other admirable quality.”

You too can be a hero to someone else. It just takes being in the right place at the right time in our lives - and deciding to act in the moment. This takes lifelong preparation for when the time comes. How do you react in crisis? Do you panic and do nothing? Do you turn away and pretend you don’t see? Or do you face the situation and do what you can to save the day for one of God’s own?

Heroes from out of nowhere

I had an experience with heroes that some might not acknowledge as such, but to me they were angels who swooped in just when I needed them most. It was midnight on Christmas Eve day, and I had just flown home after spending two months in Florida where my dying husband had been receiving medical treatment. We had just been told nothing more could be done to help my loved one and were coming home for Christmas, discouraged and exhausted. I found the car exactly where my son had left it for us, but discovered to my great dismay that he had forgotten to unload the back of our SUV. I had a wheelchair, a walker, four oversized suitcases, a briefcase, and two carry-ons, and my bone-weary husband to load into the car. I tried and tried, but I simply couldn’t fit everything in and shut the doors. I finally kicked the car in frustration and cried out for help to no one in particular. Suddenly, a young couple appeared and began taking everything out of my car. I looked on in astonishment as they said, “ You just get your husband into the car and bring us the wheelchair, and we’ll do the rest.” And they did. That blessed Christmas, they were our heroes.

The hero in me

We all it within us to be heroes- even me. My two-year old niece jumped into the pool in front of her mother, and as she floated face down in the water, her mother, paralyzed with fear, stood watching and crying, “Heather’s in the pool drowning. Heather’s in the pool drowning.” Fully dressed, I quickly jumped in and pull the limp baby out of the water. She was unharmed, but to her, I am still a hero. I see it in the way she cares for me. I see it in how she greets me and says goodbye. I see it in her self-sacrifice when I am around. The thing is, I did just what most people would have done had they seen a baby floating upside down in their pool. To me, it didn’t feel like anything exceptional.

Before reading the Time article I’ve never thought of myself as a hero but that day perhaps I was. To quote he article, “Everywhere we look there are hidden reserves of majesty, honor, genius and luck.” Guess what, Pinkies? You are that reserve. All you have to do is tap into that power and let it ooze out onto your family, friends and strangers (who won’t stay strangers for long if you do!). Confidence, sacrifice, or persistence- if we cultivate these virtues with love and generosity, they will always be available to us to call upon.

What about you Pinkies? What heroes have graced your life? How have you been someone else’s hero without even realizing how brave you were? Will you step up to the plate next time? The hero’s journey is yours to have…

Believing in the hero within each of you,

Trish Rankin