From Zero to Hero

    
     From zero to hero, think about that for a minute, a common, ordinary man or woman walking down a busy city street when all of a sudden, a toddler wanders out into the middle of rush hour traffic. What does he or she do? What any of us hopes we would instinctively do, jump out in the middle of traffic and swoop up the child before the toddler is hit by a car. In that instant, that person becomes a hero in at least the eyes of the parent and most certainly that child. Did our hero plan to save a life at that moment? Obviously not, but by placing the safety and well-being of someone else in front of self, that becomes the unintended outcome. Each day you have that same opportunity to become a "hero" to someone. Hopefully you don't have to dive out in front a car, run into a burning house, or even climb a tree to save a child's kitten, but each of us each and every day have the opportunity to place ourselves last, and push the needs of someone else to the front of our list of things to do today.
     I almost started this next paragraph with a statement about how society is so self-centered today, but that's a negative spin on what I really want to make the point about, so let's talk about this topic from the perspective of all of those unsung heroes that exist among us each day. When heroes are born a part of them actually dies. With our example above, who among us would dare dive out into the middle of a busy intersection just to be jumping out there? No way, we all believe in self-preservation and that qualifies as a sure way to decrease the likelihood of surviving to see the next sun rising in the east. Yet, place the life of someone else on the line and all of a sudden we no longer think of self, we don't even think, it just happens. At that moment, a little bit of you dies. The little bit that says "I will do all I can do to make sure I live as long as I can", ceases to exist, suddenly our life doesn't matter. That part of us that dies is the part that allows us to become a hero to someone else.
     Unintentionally, the person above becomes a hero. Some "heroes", on the other hand, become famous for their acts of selflessness, Captain Chesley Sullenberger being one such example that comes to mind. "Sully" became famous for landing US Airways flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River back in 2016, saving the lives of all on-board. You know I guess Captain Sullenberger could have decided to don a parachute and take the "every man for himself" attitude, but instead he placed self at the bottom of his list and then went about the business of navigating a crash landing on the frozen Hudson River. By any definition, hero. If heroes were only born at a moment of potential tragedy and with the potential of personal harm to the hero, I'm not sure the waiting list for who's next would be very long. I believe each of us has the opportunity to be an "intentional" hero each and every day.
     To be an intentional hero, you still have to make the decision to place others in front of yourself, it just doesn't have to be in a life or death setting. Your choice to stop and buy a cup of coffee or hot soup for a homeless person certainly pushes you up the ladder in the eyes of the one holding the cup. Placing your "needs" to the side and serving someone else less fortunate than you, makes you a hero in their eyes. In education, we that teach have the opportunity to be a hero each and every day. Don't ever lessen the impact of a kind word, an encouraging comment, or just the simple act of stating that you believe in that student that otherwise doesn't have an encourager in their life. Side note, When I use the word teacher I don't use it in an inclusive manner for just those that are in the profession of education, but instead I want to make sure that everyone reading this post understands that you are a teacher to someone whether it is at your place of work, in your home, on the city streets, or wherever your life takes you each day, you are a teacher and you can be a hero to someone each day.
      The concept of becoming a hero is best summed up in Galatians 2:20 where Paul proclaims, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Using this example of selfless sacrifice that Paul is describing here, we can all seek to attain this same attitude. If we have a relationship with our Maker, then it no longer is us that lives, it is He who lives in me. If that is true then we no longer are living to honor our own self, but instead we are living just as Jesus lived, serving others and placing self last for the benefit of a child wandering out into the street, or even for the child that wanders into our life each day looking for a smile, a glimmer of hope, or a word to help them make it through another day. 
      I wanted to start today's thought with this phrase, but I think it is much more appropriate to end our time together today. "When I become nothing, that allows me to become everything to someone else." I challenge you to be a hero today, tomorrow, and every day that Our Lord and Savior gives you to live! Go out and make a difference today! 
Coach Carter