Everyone deserves to be the hero of their own story. It is a concept that few people truly understand, yet they strive to accomplish. We seek the glory, honor or fame that will create in the minds of others a hero legend.
I read the book "All my Puny Sorrows" a couple of months ago and the idea of each person being the hero of their own story was presented in a way I had not conceptualized. Neither had I had thought about the concept of each person a hero in her / his own story prior to that novel; but I have thought about it quite a bit since.
Being the hero of your own story is like being the jolly good fellow: you are the center of a story; you're the central focus - the main person - the protagonist. This sounds brilliantly clever, doesn't it? I think all too often many people live with this ego-eccentric belief. Sadly, if a person lives with this ideal, then to be a hero, you must have an antagonist, an enemy, a demon. That's how a good story works. To be a hero, one must overcome something, or someone. Ironically, many of us are afraid of and aggressively avoid conflict.
Think about the Cold War - thousands of soldiers waging an invisible war on the premise of a threat. It was as though without the threat, existence couldn't happen. My oldest daughter believes fully that she is the victim of some tragedy created by me. As her victim story grew through adolescence and now into adulthood, I have learned to tell myself that I am not the demon of another's story. I often wonder why she needs to be the victim, why she so powerfully needs to live her life as the all too central character in a bigger story. There is scarce room for anyone else in her story, and to be a part of her life, I must render myself mute and almost invisible.
What I've hoped for, prayed for, has been for my daughter to discover a new lens. Of late, I've heard the whisper of "perspective" in regard to my own life, and I ponder what it takes to help others see through the lens I currently own.
Back to this "hero" concept.
Each person defines that term differently, and I use the term to mean central character; and not just an ordinary central character, but one who is fearless and important - a character who makes a notable contribution to the lives of others.
Think about the Cold War - thousands of soldiers waging an invisible war on the premise of a threat. It was as though without the threat, existence couldn't happen. My oldest daughter believes fully that she is the victim of some tragedy created by me. As her victim story grew through adolescence and now into adulthood, I have learned to tell myself that I am not the demon of another's story. I often wonder why she needs to be the victim, why she so powerfully needs to live her life as the all too central character in a bigger story. There is scarce room for anyone else in her story, and to be a part of her life, I must render myself mute and almost invisible.
What I've hoped for, prayed for, has been for my daughter to discover a new lens. Of late, I've heard the whisper of "perspective" in regard to my own life, and I ponder what it takes to help others see through the lens I currently own.
Back to this "hero" concept.
Each person defines that term differently, and I use the term to mean central character; and not just an ordinary central character, but one who is fearless and important - a character who makes a notable contribution to the lives of others.
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