Heroes

Sometimes it's difficult for me to deviate away from the pop culture frame of mind, where the word 'hero' produces images of fan favorites from today's popular comic books, all bulging muscles and primary colored costumes. But after I wake up from dreaming about Christian Bale in a Batman suit, I remember that super heroes have a lot in common with the day-to-day champions we know and admire. Real life heroes are people that do super things - athletes that accomplish amazing physical feats, volunteers that make great contributions to their causes, people with in the community who make a difference - even the ordinary looking guy, waiting in line to order coffee.

The other morning I was running late for work and waited impatiently in the Starbucks drive-thru for my coffee. After what seemed like forever, the stress from facing impending traffic on the 8 made me snap at the barista when I finally reached the window. She handed me my double-tall-nonfat-whatever and instead of telling me my total, she asked if I would like to 'pay it forward'. Pay it forward? Uh, like the movie? I was confused, but correct. According to her, the first person who came for coffee that morning asked if they could pay it forward by buying the next customer's drink and so on, asking her only to pass on the message ... and to her surprise, it worked! For each El Cajon & 68th Starbucks patron that went through the drive-thru that morning, their coffee was already paid for. Instead of hearing a total at the window, they got their beverage for free and were asked to continue the trend. I was around the twentieth person to reach the window ... and I did pay it forward. I drove to work that morning so touched from that small act of kindness, I hardly even noticed the traffic.

It's hard for me to label any one person in my life a hero because I find inspiration in so many. While some people admire physical strength and others idolize high IQs, one thing I believe all heroes have in common is their ability to inspire. That illuminated Starbucks patron, a determined barista and every coffee drinker that paid it forward that day, did exactly that for me. As a society, we are capable of doing the most terrible things imaginable, but that isn't all we can do. We have the ability to love. We have the sense to be patient, compassionate and understanding. We have the resources to help those around us, even if we don't get anything in return. You may think that your actions, good and bad, are minuscule and unimportant, but they most certainly are not. You can light the match that ignites the fire of change by doing something small each day to make this world a better place. Due to this simple philosophy, supported by a small, unremarkable act of kindness, humanity itself is the 'hero' in my life because it inspires the hero in me.