Invisible Heroes

●♥ Invisible Heroes ♥●

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible battles inside all of us – that's where it's at.”

–Jesse Owens

The world best knows Jesse Owens for the gold medals that he won in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.  However, his life shows us that he had to overcome many personal trials and troubles well beyond those we saw on the athletic field.  So too it is with each one of us.  Every visible victory that we can actually witness has been preceded by the triumph of countless savage internal battles.

Sure, we see and cheer the winning goals and the home runs but we never see the motivational struggles to practice in the early morning hours.  We keep score of all the touchdowns but we do not count all the decisions to make the effort that keeps improving the best and making it better.  Yet these are the necessary and heroic choices that play out daily and yield the wins that we all applaud.

We do not see the real wars that define our society.  If we could then we would soon realize that we are surrounded by invisible heroes.  We would see the tired and lonely person behind the cheerful smile of our friendly server.  We would know and understand the disappointment and failed dreams of our productive co-worker.  In short, we would see the scars and wounds on people’s hearts and souls and I think we would become far more kind, forgiving and understanding.

I recognize that we all need ideals to encourage and inspire us; the big shiny heroes that media and society regularly hail feed that appetite.  I do not want to take away from those people and their achievements.  What I am hoping to do is twofold.  First, I would like us to open our eyes and our minds to the invisible heroes that circulate around each and every one of us.

We may not see their struggles but we should know that everyone has them and we need to realize that even the most mundane of us can be waging heroic battle and overcoming some very real demons in just to keep going every day.  Earning a living, keeping a loving family together, being a good friend and citizen… these simple things should not be downplayed or undervalued.  We all know and see the terrible costs when individuals lose the invisible wars.

Secondly, I would like us to acknowledge our own invisible struggles and victories.  We need to give ourselves credit for wrestling with our own fears. We may not always outwardly succeed when we choose to oppose our fears, but I assert that we always win somehow when we make that choice.  When we turn away from the darkness and choose life and living, no matter how hard, then that is a victory.  When life slaps us hard and yet we choose to push back our tears and try again tomorrow that is triumphant!  

Yes, we should celebrate when we achieve or make progress towards outward goals.  So too should we rejoice when we overcome the naysayers in our minds and opt to hold true to our hearts dream.  Heroes are made from the inside out and there are far more heroes than we ever acknowledge.  Let’s see ourselves and each other with new eyes today.

Perhaps that person that you smiled at is fellow warrior in heart of a battle and you just provided them some more ammo to continue the good fight.  Acknowledge your own silent conflicts and make note when you make difficult positive choices.  Be compassionate both within and without.  Remember that though not all battles yield gold medals this does not mean that they do not count.  The ground you gain in your heart today make be the seed to the success that shines through tomorrow.  

Cheers!

©2020 Scott D. Wilson

Perfect Imperfection

●●●Perfect Imperfection●●●

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” ―Albert Einstein

The wise person realizes that we can only ever know an infinitesimally small percentage of the vast reality which surrounds us and we can understand even less. In that awareness of the universe the wise one knows how ignorant and foolish he or she truly is.  Meanwhile, the average person generally misguidedly accepts his or her limited understanding for reality itself and finds frustration when that understanding is challenged.

Einstein was correct, human ignorance or stupidity is infinite.  We can never possibly hope to grasp a complete understanding of all that exists everywhere in this unending universe.  Likewise, one man or woman within their limited lifespan can only hope to master and comprehend of a miniscule fraction of all that can be experienced and understood.  Even among our chosen fields of expertise we can never sit down and proclaim our perfection of any ability.

I graduated as an electrical engineer in 1990 and yet I never expect to be the perfect electrical engineer.  I got married in 1991 and still I doubt that I will ever be a perfect husband.  I have been writing for decades and I highly doubt that I will ever perfect my craft.  Yet many keep striving day in and day out to “get it right.”  Whether it is their career, family matters, financial success, weight loss or other worthy pursuits, so many people long for the day when everything just clicks into place.

Our lives simply do not work that way.  It is not about finding the perfect spouse, the perfect job, the perfect parenting method, the perfect diet and exercise or the perfect life.  When we choose this viewpoint then the goalposts will always be moving and we will find ourselves constantly dissatisfied and disappointed.  Our ideals will torture and haunt us instead of spurring us on to improve.  We never learn to celebrate improvements because they fall short of our ultimate expectation.  Goals become drudgery and dreams become nightmares.

This thinking is so commonplace that a great many people feel trapped, desperate and demotivated.  It is no wonder that many quit their goals.  Understandably, a wiser gentler path is not apparent to them.  And so I hope that my words act as a kind of map that helps you to find this different side-street.  There is joy in discovering a way that realizes that perfection is process, not a destination.  One can discover peace of mind on a trail that rejoices in each step forward, no matter how small.  Life can follow a journey where dreams and goals shine brightly before us, leading us on a winding and adventurous pathway.  We can follow road that has abandoned getting it right and embraced getting it better.

If you are one who finds themselves hoping for their life to just start working perfectly one day, please consider that your very desire is causing you grief.  Entertain the idea that personal progress is a better means to keep one motivated and moving forwards.  Use your ideals wisely and you can find perfect contentment amidst imperfection when you come to realize:

“Life is not about getting it right.Life is about getting it better.” –Me

Cheers!
©2017 Scott D. Wilson

The Gain Within Pain

_____The Gain Within Pain____

“Every problem or difficulty you face contains the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit.” –Napoleon Hill

Maybe I am odd but I got used to this viewpoint when I was young.  Yes, there may be exceptions.  Yet the vast majority of the time I have found that our troubles hold the beginnings of our greatness, the nuclei of our success.

Think of the caterpillar.  Great energy and effort go into the creation of a cocoon or chrysalis.  The creature goes from daily foraging, eating and avoiding predators to spending weeks cooped up and inactive as the painfully slow processes of metamorphosis take place.  If it has thoughts does it grow impatient day by day?

Ah, but all that work and waiting one day results in a complete transformation.  In one final struggle and momentous effort, our earthbound worm frees itself from its bonds to finally take flight.   We cannot know the thoughts, if any, of a caterpillar.  Nonetheless, it is clear that process that transforms an awkward worm into an elegant butterfly or a moth involves sweat and difficulty.  Yet that labour is the beginning of greatness for the creature as it leaves behind its former limitations.

What are you facing today?  Is a slow tedious process teaching you patience?  Is a difficult and stressful situation instructing you on perseverance?  Is an interaction with a harsh and difficult person coaching you on tolerance and kindness?   Is exhaustion and despair showing you the need to say ‘no’ others and to address your own welfare?  Look at your struggles.  They are not merely curses and deficits.  If you stay open to possibilities then you will see within your trials the buds of possible metamorphosis.  If you let it, your patient overcoming of a situation can literally transform you to soar beyond your current existence and expectations.

©2017 Scott D. Wilson