| | No worries, Mike. Michael knows I would take my clothes off for him anytime. To respond to his earlier request, I will put some thoughts out there about my view of myself as a heroic being.
I have talked before with some people here about the vision I have always had of myself as something special, of my life as something golden. I don't recall having it told or taught to me, but maybe it was. I do recall riding my horse hell-for-leather across fields, singing Emmylou Harris at the top of my lungs:
Well i was born to run
To get ahead of the rest
And all that i wanted was to be the best
Just to feel free and be someone
I was born to be fast i was born to run.
My heroes are people who have a clearly defined sense of self; they know what they believe in, what is important, how they want to live. They are uncompromising. Their actions have reasons. They are not ruled by emotions, but they feel powerfully in the presence of beauty, accomplishment, greatness. They generally know a lot about many things. They may have done something so extraordinary that they are known to all. More likely their lives are quietly extraordinary, filled with people who admire and are inspired by them on a local level.
My heroes pursue their work and avocations competently and creatively. With joy, honesty, and mindfulness.
I love my heroes, in a breathless, sacred way. And I think I am as much like them as I can be at this point. I am an inspiration to myself as my heroes are to me and I am to others. I feel amazement at myself on a regular basis.
I think that there has to be some connection on a personal level for someone to be a hero to me, rather than just a person who has accomplished something. For example, there are people in many arenas (politics, science, art) who have done great things that I don't understand or have little interest in. But I know artists who pursue their crafts in such a way that they are heroic to me. I know scientists who create wonderful, elegant tools and develop ideas that excite me! Today my mechanic diagnosed my car without doing much more than putting his hand on it, and then talked about it so clearly and reasonably that it made me want to get to know him better.
I don't think a hero needs to be larger than life. I think my heroes are deliciously real, living people that have their shit so together that they take being alive to a whole new level.
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