Where have the Hero's gone?
Where have all the hero’s gone?
In today’s pop culture we really don’t have hero’s that promote ideals worth striving to emulate. Everyone loves the flawed comic book stars like Deadpool and The Punisher - but besides being willing and able to commit extreme violence for what-ever cause they deem important, they really don’t give us an ideal of how to live heroic lives as men.
The ancient greeks had hero’s who were flawed but always learned an important lesson on their journey that would forge that charactars character; and thus provide the people who looked to the hero as a solid example of the ideals and traits that society found virtuous.
Strength.
Honor.
Courage.
Mastery.
In fact, most of human literature tells the story of the Hero’s Journey - the flawed character who must learn an important Character lesson in order to attain success; and so the story goes.
Where has the DC Superman gone? The hero who was strong and compassionate, and stood for truth, justice, and the American way.
Nietzsche talked about a not-very different superman - or Uber Mench - an ideal of the man men should strive to become like pointing out that what we become what we focus on - even into biological evolution.
So I challenge you, my brothers, to think about what kind of Hero you want to follow or better yet, what kind of man do you want to show your son how to be? What kind of many do you want to show your daughters to marry? What are the values, and character traits that you find virtuous.
When you end up being like the hero’s you worship, what will that make you?
Jesus is an ideal for many: meek, patient, non-violent, truth teller.
For millennia longer, Odyseus was the ideal: brave, leader, warrior, loyal, cunning.
Who are your hero’s?
What traits or values do you share with your hero?
Are they worthy to emulate?
What if you reimagined yourself as a hero? To your children, to your friends, even your circle of influence in your community. This will give you a road map of where you need to go, what disciplines you will need to incorporate, and who you can begin becoming as you transform your life into the hero of your own story.
The beauty of this story is that we all get to choose.
T-Bombs-Away. ??
Check out this video I did about the discipline it takes to be a Warrior.