Speaking of superheroes, superman took a center stage in my mind. Yes superman! He was my super man during my childhood fantasies who took me off drifted into the blissful moments of my inner world. The cozy room of my parents ushered me into wonderland.
…more than twenty years after…
January 30, 2009 7:00 P.M. Two hours ago, I was seated in a pink couch in the house of a close friend, classmate and neighbor. A young man, as he was described by an elder neighbor who is seated on my left side, sat next to me for a casual conversation. Minutes later he signaled to start the mass. The elder woman’s eye turned like an owl with a question marked on her 70 year old forehead.
The message was of superheroes. I listened intently as he shared his thoughts of educators becoming heroes in our school, of unsung heroes in our society, of individual heroes to themselves, of family heroes, and so on and so forth.
He discussed how the departed mother of our friend, who owns the pink couch, was a hero to herself, her immediate family, circle of friends and colleagues and above all to the community she was then serving—my alma mater, Marian College.
I pondered as he continued his brief message. There were many instances in our lives when we become heroes to others yet we never realized we were one. There are many times in our lives when we were saved by other heroes but we never realized until he or she passed away.
Worst, at times, when we do something unpleasing to others, we are judged for a single mistake. The years of good deeds are white washed and overshadowed by the present situation. It’s like the saying “…when we do good no one remembers, but when we do bad no one forgets…”
Harsh realities could separate us from our once world. It is painful to realize that many people take sides. Another way of saying this is that, too many people do not know how to listen and see the other side of the ball. When we are condemned for the things we are not 100% guilty of, we are overburdened with fears and hopelessness. We are left helpless…and we feel we are no longer heroes.
The young man continued his sharing. He put emphasis on the real superhero that suffered and died for us to save our sins. Biblically speaking, we Christians anchor our lives in the teaching of our real superhero—Jesus.
It is true; each of us has our own shortcomings we need to conquer from within. I would simply put in, as in my friendster account shout out, “Live as if it is the last day of your life. Forget and forgive.” This one formula, along with life’s many other formulas, can help us become real heroes and even superheroes in our day to day lives.
As superheroes, we can be more spirited to face the challenges ahead without fear of losing the track. Anyway, there is no race, so why be in a hurry. If today we can’t still call ourselves heroes, then maybe tomorrow, in the right time and place, we can be real heroes to ourselves, to others and above all to our superhero up there.
The message, though concise, touched me. I am not being “senti” I just want to enjoy the moment by listening to what other people has to say. It is through the power of listening when we learn to value life and when we learn to treasure our daily encounters. For each day is an added learning experience our school teacher did not teach us.
By the way, the man is a close family friend, my classmate in elementary and school mate in high school who turned “certified” priest four months ago—He is Fr. Erwin Guno.
