Call Upon Your...

Inner Hero

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.”

Joseph Campbell

          I know so many people who are struggling right now. Life did not stop because of the pandemic, only our ability to navigate it did. Several members of my family up in North Carolina are dealing with illness and death. One lost his twin brother, who was simply found dead at home up in West Virginia. Another’s 93-year-old mother is in hospital because of a fall. She’s housed on a Covid-19 floor in spite of the fact that she does not have the virus. And, of course, her daughter cannot be with her. Life events that would be extremely difficult all by themselves, are made worse by the pandemic. No one who owns a small business is prospering, and no one who is out of work but cannot get through to apply for workmen’s compensation is sleeping at night. Thousands of people who have never needed food assistance before are waiting for hours in food lines. Others, in long lines at testing sites. Sen. Bernie Sanders called this our biggest challenge since the Civil War. These are certainly difficult times.

          What is happening in the middle of this, however, is new behavior, new ways of living, working, and schooling. So many of our health care workers and others have reached down within themselves and pulled up an almost super-human strength. They have poured themselves into the job of caring for the sick in a way they have never been called upon to do before. I compare them to the smokejumpers who are air-lifted behind the lines to fight wildfires. They risk their lives to save others, and in doing so find the heroic within themselves.

          We all have it in us to be heroic. Even those of us who are normally timid and always say, “No” to challenges, have amazing strength. We usually discover it quite by accident, when a situation presents itself that catches us off guard, and we don’t have time to marshal our defenses. We just do what we must do. I remember a woman in one of my classes who told the story of being in a car accident with her sister. The car she drove spun around and landed on its side with her sister’s arm pinned under it. She leapt from the driver’s side, ran around to her sister’s side, and pushed the car up enough to free her sister’s arm. There was no time to think about what she couldn’t do; she just acted and found that the strength she needed was there. I’ll bet we could spend an afternoon telling such stories, because everyone has them.

          Times are hard right now. We must keep our spirits up and keep doing what we are able to do. Help one another, be kind to everyone you meet, and be gentle with yourself. This too will pass, but for now, know that you too have an inner hero. It’s there, I guarantee.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane