Heroes

I almost feel like I’m coming back to life after being gone awhile!  For the last three days, I’ve been on a “detox” diet, eating vegan, avoiding sugar, limiting caffeine, and exercising.  I already feel a vast difference… I have more energy and better concentration, and my mood isn’t just lighter—I feel an incredible optimism.

Earlier this fall I got hooked on NBC’s show Heroes. (I’ve got a bad habit of missing the first season of good shows… happened to me with Lost, too.) This week I began watching the first season episodes to catch up… still only about ten episodes through it, so no spoilers, please!

Why I mention both of these together is that both of them fit together in my life now. When I lost weight a long time ago, I remember feeling almost unstoppable, like I could do anything. There’s something in this massive tale of people discovering abilities that they didn’t know they had, that resonates with my own discovery of strength and joy that I’ve forgotten I had.

Of course, Heroes resonates strongly with me as a spiritual metaphor. It’s about spiritual warfare, the work of bodhisattvas versus the forces of destruction, fear, violence, and ignorance. This is something that’s coming back to me as well… for quite a while now, my sense of mission and purpose had been receding. Now it’s resurging. Heroes isn’t fiction. It’s spiritual reality. There really was a Spider-Man in New York. The one I know didn’t sling webs or swing from buildings, but he did jump into any fight at a moment’s notice with the goal of saving both the victim and the aggressor, and whenever possible, prevented fights from even starting.  His name is Vernon Kitabu Turner, and now he trains others in the way of the spiritual warrior.

There really are Isaac Mendezes.. . prophets who paint the future they see, presenting the challenge to change it.

There really are Peter Petrellis… persons who catch the spirits of others. One word, which might come from you or from me, might be enough to make them soar into discovering the cure for AIDS, or to bring peace to a war-torn land.

There really are Claire Bennets… people so resilient, they can return day after day to stresses that would tear up most of us.

There really are Hiro Nakamuras… people so filled with delight and wonder they might seem not to take much seriously… except their place in the mission of saving others and saving the  world.

And of course, there really are Jessicas and Sylars… people who will use any means possible to seize money and power.

So…
What kind of hero are you?

6 thoughts on “Heroes

  1. “Super- powers Activated” (You had to have been a kid at a certain time to know what this means!)

    I think we’re all harboring powers that are astonishing, bewildering, ordinary, and that need to be brought forth to heal all that needs healing. I’ve heard of the TV show, but haven’t watched. Might be tempted after reading this.

    Hope this posts- I’ve had problems replying before- here it goes…

    You Are Spider-Man

    Quick and agile, you have killer instincts (literally).
    And that kind of makes up for the whole creepy spider thing.

    What Superhero Are You?

  2. I hardly watch TV anymore since the Dutch public broadcast delivers “on demand” so I haven’t seen “Heroes” either. I would like to be a hero who sees the beauty of life at all times, no matter how difficult the circumstances. I often do not succeed, but I keep trying.

    That was a fun quiz! I am

    You Are Superman

    Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
    And pretty cute too. No wonder you’re the most popular superhero ever!

    What Superhero Are You?

  3. Isaiah, it worked! Glad you have your comments again!,

    Trev, RUN to the video store and watch the first season episodes… you’ll be very glad you did. (Then you can catch up on the second season episodes on the NBC website.) Seriously, this is one of the best shows ever, and I never got into superheroes, even as a kid. It’s really about ordinary people discovering their extraordinariness, and the Bodhisattva vow.

    Everyone, it seems that my identity depends on my attachment to a costume. I flip-flop on that question… sometimes I think it doesn’t matter, other times I think I’d want to conceal my identity. With costume, I’m Spiderman, without it:

    You Are The Hulk

    Super strong and super scary, you were never meant to be a superhero.
    You’re not really into saving the world. And the world better get out of your way.

    What Superhero Are You?

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