Hero

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
Joseph Campbell

It is interesting that we all really admire those people who have dedicated their life to something other than their own individual needs. We all worship those people who have been able to break free of their ego. Jesus. Muhammad. Buddha. There were just more extreme examples of people who broke free of their ego and committed themselves to higher ideals, to improving other people's lives. To those of us who are unable to do that, they are heroes indeed.

We all must know, somewhere deep down, that there is more to life than just satisfying the demands of our own ego. Accumulating pleasures for ourselves is just not satisfying after a while. And the more things we find that make us happy, the more frightened we get that we will lose them some day. They often become over time more of a pain than a pleasure. No matter how many wonderful things we are able to find for ourselves, we still don't feel good about ourselves. We know, deep down, that something is missing.

It is human nature to love people for those aspects of their personality that we want for ourselves but can't find in ourselves. And of course the less we feel that we have that desirable personality trait, the more we love those people who have it. We feel as if they will make us whole, will fill the spiritual hole that we know we have inside. And they certainly help, at least for a while. So it is no surprise that the one kind of person that all of us love the very most, is one who loves not just himself; not even just us, but everyone. A hero is someone who wants to help not just himself but also everyone else, who cares not just for himself but for us too.