Courage and Heroism

"And each man stands with his face in the light. Of his own drawn sword, ready to do what a hero can." -Elizabeth Barrett Browning

There was a recent article in the Wall Street Journal regarding everyday heroes and what it takes to be one. The article is titled Are You a Hero or a Bystander? and it examines what type of person is likely to step up or freeze in a crisis. The story cites research from the University of Winnipeg in 2010 and others which identify the prime traits of both courage and heroism.

What I find amazing is that so many people never realize these traits until put to the test. If you were to have asked those people did they ever think they had it in them, most would probably say no. Many would indicate that they were surprised to know it was inside of them.

There are stories such as Laurie Ann Eldridge, seeing from her garden in Cameron, N.Y. an obviously confused 81-year-old driver stuck at a railroad crossing. A train was speeding toward the car when Ms. Eldridge ran barefooted to the car. She pulled the disoriented woman out, rolling down the railway embankment only seconds before the train demolished the car.

Ms. Eldridge's feet were bloody and riddled with splinters and the elderly woman was unhurt. But did she know it was inside her to act so courageously? Unlikely, but that didn't matter, she acted and that is what did matter.

Each of us have some level of heroism and courage inside of us. The charts you see are a way that researchers say you can determine what level that is. What I don't think it gauges is the "moment" of need in which that inner thing surfaces. A time when you least expect it.

It will be in those "moments" that you realize it exists inside of you. You will respond by acting in that moment. It will seem natural and right when you do it. time will slow down and everything will happen with clarity. Only afterwards, when others are asking and saying it was heroic, that you will realize what you just did.

There are very few of us, if any, that walk outside each day and tell ourselves we will be doing something heroic. We walk outside and go about our life. There is no expectation that we will be called upon to do something heroic.

What we do expect of ourselves is that we care for our fellow man and woman. We have compassion for others that are in need. That is what lies at the surface of our lives. So when the "moment" occurs, that compassion on the surface will drag the inner courage and heroism out into the open.

Be prepared to use your courage in a heroic act. You never know when it will come to the surface. And stay inspired my friends.

Labor Day 2012

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." ~Doug Larson

No, Labor Day isn't the last day of summer or the point at which high society decides it is no longer appropriate to wear white. One thing we must all remember, there are lots of folks that actually have to work on Labor Day. I remember my mother having to work in the department store on these holidays each year back in the 60s and 70s.

On this day, you will find grocery store clerks, restaurant staff, gas stations and a myriad of others working. On this day, maybe you should thank them for working so that you can enjoy the day off.

Let us never forget there were good and solid reasons why the labor movement existed.

From the U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.



Stay inspired my friends!

Life is a Movie

"To me, if life boils down to one thing, it’s movement. To live is to keep moving."
-Jerry Seinfeld

I talk a lot about movement and change in my articles. You probably start to ask when do we ever get to just stop moving. And of course, you can stop. Take a moment to relax and refocus on life and all that is going on around you. What is important to remember is that even as you stand on the side of the road, life keeps moving and changing.

You could think of life as a log of individual movies taking place. Your life is your your movie. It is a movie that others are watching. Things are always happening and the action is sometimes packed with thrills and at other times just quiet.

The movie others see is you standing on the side of the road. Your movie would contain lots of activity swirling around you. I can get on the fast track movement with the best of them, but I like to exist in the 'slow movement' movie of life. I like watching change and the speed of life happening around me.

I can best describe it by something our family dog does. Our small 'Mini Fox Terrier' can get quite excited and just goes on a running tear around the house. At the speed of light, this dog is running every which way at full tilt. If I walk very slow and simply observe her, I see things about how she runs, maintains balance, and fills the space within a matter of seconds.

Think of it as one of those movie scenes where all the people are going real fast, but the main character is moving slow within their midst. I tend to view the world around me like this, observing what others are doing and how I fit or relate to all that is going on. And there are many times that I will sit down on the (figurative) park bench and stop to watch all of it.

You can do the same thing, stop or slow down for a while. As long as you understand the world keeps moving and changing, then you can take a break from it. You will have to jump in and adjust to the differences when you do rejoin the excitement. Or take a slower approach, take a slower course and observe. Remember its your movie and you have the ability to make your life that what you want.

Stay inspired my friends.

Good News or Not

"Esta tudo bem - it's alright"

NBC Nightly News aired a news segment for quite some time called "What Works." It was their way of countering the majority of news that tends to focus on the bad news. Here we had an attempt to show what is good in life. The problem is that life is so full of news that seems to contradict the fact that a lot of good does exist in everyday life.

News programs, radio talk shows, the deluge of newspapers and internet opinions, blogs and every conceivable source of information possible. The vast majority of them talk only of the bad things, the disagreements or the horrible state of life. Is there nothing good that actually happens on a daily basis?

Sure there is, but good news does not sell and most of those organizations do not exist by losing money. They sell a product which caters to what the buying public wants. Stories of puppy dog rescues and new flower gardens do not sell advertising space. We as the 'buying public' are the ones that ultimately dictate what gets shown or printed.

I'm not here to declare that it has to change.

What I am here to declare is that the important thing to understand is that life is actually pretty good. There is goodness in our life and not everything is bad out there. You can find and witness that goodness does happen.

If you read or watch too much of the bad, it will jade your opinion of society in general. So try to counter it once in a while with good news. Search for the good in what seems an endless string of bad.

"Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed." - William Saroyan

Stay inspired my friends.