(Call of Perseus by Edward Burne-Jones. Perseus is called by the goddess Athena to the heroic tasks of rescuing a princess and slaying the terrible Gorgon)
All indications from myth and astrology are that we are approaching times that will require more heroes.
The world is in need of, and will need even more later on, more stalwart souls with the courage, selflessness and persistence to help humanity through some rough times and onto its feet into a changing, perhaps quite unfamiliar world. Even more, we will need more souls dedicated to helping humanity to evolve spiritually, to help pull the rest of us out of our complacency and into greater awareness of our mutual responsibility to each other, to the planet and to our own development.
I know that such heroes exist. They have existed in all ages, especially when the need is great, and we are now in great need. Millions go hungry, live in extreme poverty and degradation, and die while those in power engage in their paper-money games and wars in the name of greed and power, and harm the very earth on which we depend for survival. Right now, heroic souls are doing what they can to end these evils and change the world for the better.
But the work is too great, the needs are too many for a few. We, every one of us who can see what is happening, must help the heroes in their task. We must start developing some of the qualities of the true hero, and applying them in our daily lives. Every little bit will make a big difference.
One thing that keeps us from doing this is the confusion over just what a hero is, and what a hero does. We have, I think, regressed in our perception of the hero in the past few decades, so much so that most people no longer recognise a true hero when it stands before them.
So what is a hero?
For several centuries, a ‘hero’ was a person who combined courage with finer qualities like honourableness, nobility, integrity and selflessness. Now, we call almost anyone a hero – people who get paid for doing stuff; people who wear certain uniforms or are famous; people who are good at their jobs; people who do us favours …anyone. The word ‘hero’ is bandied around so much these days that it has become meaningless. Hero now, bastard tomorrow…It’s all the same.
It’s a bit like in the days of ancient Greece when any guy with lots of muscles, fighting skills and an attitude could be called a hero. Ulysses (Odysseus), called by the Greeks ‘Odysseus the Cunning’ , was famous for his many deceits, and while he was in some ways a good leader, he was also terribly flawed. Yet he was considered a hero. The great hero of Troy, Achilles, had a lethal temper. His rages led to many needless deaths and battles, but he was a skilled, dogged and almost unconquerable warrior, and therefore held in very high regard as a hero.
Then there’s Jason, leader of the Argonauts and the quest for the Golden Fleece. This character from ancient Greek myth was raised by the wise centaur, Chiron; helped by the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and sent on one of those impossible quests where mythic and fairytale heroes (both male and female) are tried and tested in pursuit of (in Jason’s case) justice or reward. On his quest and accompanied by famous Greek heroes and semi-gods, Jason showed himself at times to be courageous, ambitious, resourceful and favoured by a goddess. You have here all the makings of an ancient Hero.
(Jason and the Dragon, Etruscan Museum, Vatican City)
Yet even though his quest was successful, Jason did not, like mythic heroes, die a glorious death or live happily surrounded by love and admiration. Instead, he lost children, wife, position and honour, and spent his last years haunting the ruins of this ship, the Argo, pathetically reliving past glories until he was killed when a rotten beam fell on his head. Despite all the other trapping of heroism, Jason was so self-centred, so manipulative, so dishonorable to his wife, Medea, and in his treatment of enemies that even the hero-besotted ancients saw him as fallen from grace.
The point is that what the ancients called heroic was very different to what we came to call heroic, and rightly so. We might admire ancient heroes for their courage, persistence, fighting skills, single-mindedness and occasional nobility and generosity, but we don’t want our sons or husbands to be like them. They were, in most regards, self-centred and profoundly selfish. They were not, to my thinking, true heroes. Nor are most whom we call heroes today.
Until recently, a hero was seen as someone who faces challenges with courage, integrity and persistence in order to help others..a pretty good definition.
The true hero, I think, is someone who acts from a higher level of consciousness, from a level of self that is individualistic (not easily swayed by opinion or outside influences) and at the same time, unselfish (motivated to act for the good of others). A heroic act or life is intrinsically spiritual. True heroes are therefore hard to find.
Yet each one of us has the capacity to act heroically, not always but sometimes. It is the capacity to heed the guidance of the soul; to act in greater alignment with our true spiritual nature.
If we are willing, we can recognise that capacity in ourselves, and develop it to live more spiritually in this world.
This is the lesson of every mythic hero, even the very bad ones like Jason, that …
the heroic is always of this world, this life, this particular experience in matter.
The true hero, therefore, is one who faces and responds to the practical matters, challenges and lessons of this world from his or her spiritual heart.
The Heroically Spiritual Life
The spiritually heroic life is not about tuning out of the world. It’s about tuning into your inner truth. Shut yourself off from your inner experience, and you shut yourself off from your own being. Fail to express your spiritual self in your outer life, and your outer life becomes thin, fragile and meaningless.
Here are some of the ways that ordinary people (youngest princes or princesses, brave fools, and other fairytale characters) become heroes. Use them to bring more truth and spirituality into your everyday life, and cultivate your inner hero.
Be true to yourself – First, know yourself, then know the best of which you are capable, then be true to the best in yourself.
The first task of the mythic hero is to encounter the lower nature (selfishness, greed, vanity, doubt, fear etc. which can show up as ogres, witches, monsters, dragons, and other evil characters), and overcome it. This can take a lot of effort and patience. Myths abound with heroes and heroines who are forced by circumstances to work their way persisently and patiently through terrible trials and tests before discovering their true selves. Having been greatly strengthened and tempered by these challenges, they are then able to overcome their adversities and reveal their true selves, and gain the prize.
Self-knowing sounds easy, but it requires the determination to see the truth, to distinguish between desire/ wishful thinking / illusion and one’s own inner truth, and to stand firm in that truth. Unless you undertake this essential spiritual task, you will, like Jason, fail to be a whole person, no matter how much you succeed in the outer world.
Hold to truth - Say only what you mean.
Do not acquiesce, even just by silence, to what you know is not truth. You're in a group of people when one makes a slightly racist remark, or speaks badly of a mutual friend, or justifies an act that you believe was wrong. Don't laugh or nod in polite agreement. Have the courage to not respond, to be compassionately detached, neither accepting nor judging. Don’t judge or preach. Just refuse to acquiesce with even a tiny gesture to what you believe is unjust, unkind, or wrong, and stand for what you know to be good and right. That's all.
Cultivate compassion and kindness - Be compassionate and kind in thought, speech and action.
You see someone you can help or in need of cheer. Stop and help, smile, chat. Be kind and helpful to those around you, especially to children, the lonely and the elderly who are often ignored. Listen to them. Just listen. You don't have to be Mother Theresa. Do what you can do, whenever you can, and do it with joy. Every little kindness helps your soul to grow. This is so important, the key, in fact, to soul growth and awakening, and the key to the transformation of humanity. Please think deeply about this, for without compassionate and kind action – doing things for others – there is no spirituality, just talk.
Accept others and the moment as they are – Judge no one, no situation, not even yourself.
You define a challenge, an opportunity to grow as a problem. You are about to express a negative judgement about someone. Stop and remind yourself that you are not here to judge anything or anyone, neither are you qualified to judge. Instead, accept each moment as it is, and if you would like something different in future, start from there, that full acceptance of what is.
Instead of judging another, feel compassion because whatever ill or wrong a person does to another will become part of that person’s future experience. The same law applies to you. Every ill thought or selfish act, every condemnation or negative judgement you direct to another will return to you, not as punishment but to help you understand the harm you have done.
Cultivate peace - Practice peace in your own mind first. Make time each day to sit still and be quiet, and let the peace of your soul flow over you.
Ancient heroes were often heroes of war. It’s time for us to become heroes of peace. Develop your inner peace through meditation, prayer, or contemplation of the benefits of peace. Then if your thoughts are troubled or chaotic, you will be able to step aside from the situation, breathe deeply, go to your inner centre of peace, and then act from there.
Allow your children, your partner, your colleague time to be still. Do not accept or practice violence of any kind: mental, physical or emotional. Do not ever justify violence…’She asked for it’…’They deserve it’…’You made me say/do it’. Instead, look for alternative non-violent solutions. Respect your children and family and every person you deal with, no matter what the situation. You CAN be angry, firm or resolute and respectful at the same time.
Be a role model for good – Let your life and the way you relate to others reflect your highest ideals, and others will be inspired to do the same.
Whether you know it or not, you are already modelling behaviour and attitudes to others, to children, family, colleagues, friends and strangers. Right now, our most influential role models are the rich and famous, which is why so many of our youth want to be like them. Unconsciously, we also model ourselves on movie characters and tv shows, and there is a lot of research to show that they influence not only our notions of beauty, success and being ‘cool’; they also influence our attitudes to gender, to other cultures, races and religions and to sexuality, and they have a profound influence on our beliefs about humanity itself.
If you really want to be a force for good, do as Gandhi did: Be the change you want to see in the world.
If you want a more peaceful, cooperative world, be more peaceful and cooperative in your relationships with others. If you want a more equitable world where everyone has enough to eat, shelter and quality of life, do what little you can to improve someone else’s situation. Take food to an older person is dire straits. Help a homeless person find accommodation. Visit a sick, lonely person. If you want a more loving, caring environment, be loving and caring to those around you, even if you don’t feel loved in return.
Last words. No hero is without failure. We learn from our failures, for they reveal parts of us to ourselves that we have not attended to, and motivate us to try new things when old ways don’t work. No hero is perfect. Even the pure knight, Parzival, made mistakes, had weaknesses, and often fell short. The test of a hero has never been perfection – perfect strength, perfect beauty, perfect wisdom or whatever. The test of a hero is unwavering determination for a selfless cause. Do what you can, as best you can, forgive yourself for all failures and stay on the path.