Moments of Heroism
We are all drawn toward heroic figures, perhaps in part because they teach and impress us in extraordinary ways; and perhaps because they allow us to imagine ourselves bigger and more powerful than we think we are. People who act heroically come in all shapes and sizes. They may even escape our notice until the effects of their heroism spread widely. My spiritual belief is that every human is potentially heroic; but I also think we should praise and emulate those whose heroism is huge and astonishing. Greta Thunberg is an amazing small young woman from what she terms a small country (Sweden), but she has awakened several billion people to the fact that so many still refuse or fail to recognize: we have overheated our planet to a point of real danger. At age sixteen she shows herself to be much wiser and bolder than so many older people who should be leading our way. Stephen Hawking, who passed away last year, was as overwhelming an example of mind over matter as one could ever imag