What makes a hero? Is it the background that he comes from, the kind of education that he got, or the environment he grew up in that makes him do things that people will not normally do? Heroes don’t really look the part, and mostly, they’re just like everyone else. The only thing that separates them from others is the initiative to meddle with stuff that other people will most certainly overlook.

It doesn’t take much to be heroic, you just need one deed that may not mean much to the you but means the world to the other person, the recipient of the gesture. Here are some stories of not-so-grand heroism that I have personally witnessed:

1. I was riding a jeepney (Philippine transportation mode) and noticed that the girl at the far right was sleeping. This was not unusual, but, the journey took 30 minutes due to heavy road traffic and she did not stir. Most of the people inside the public vehicle were snickering, saying that she must have drunk too much. One guy, seated directly in front of her, took concern and suggested that someone take her to the police station so that she will be the police’s responsibility. As the jeepney halted to a stop, most of the other passengers disembarked, leaving the girl, me and the concerned guy behind. We asked the driver to direct us to the closest police station, and made an effort to wake the girl up. The jeepney driver commented that the girl was asleep for 2 travel cycles already. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that she had neither bag nor personal effects on her, but she looked presentable enough to pass as an ordinary office employee. The concerned guy decided to take her to the hospital instead, and asked me to go with him, which I did. The Emergency Room staff informed us that the girl was drugged (possibly by thieves who took her bag with them), that she had a bump on her arm showing a needle prick and that the drug did not agree with her body chemistry. She was very close to dying, her breathing was shallow. We got her to the hospital in time.

—————————————————————————————————————–

Back in college, my girl friend and I would frequent Tipsy’s, a popular hang out in Makati. One time, we were there until 1 am and a guy friend who was also in the restaurant offered to give us a ride home. We were on our way to my girl friend’s house in Paranaque when our car stalled in the middle of Roxas boulevard. In 30 minutes, not one of the cars passing by took notice of us, until a car travelling along the opposite lane stopped and the driver asked us what the problem was. Our guy friend said he’s out of gas and didn’t make it to the station at the end of the long highway. The guy in the other car asked “Diesel?”, when our friend said yes, he yelled “ok, wait for me to come back” and rolled up his window. A good 10 minutes later, he was back with bottled gasoline, and apologized for the delay because he had to take the long U-turn to get to the nearest gas station. We offered to pay him but he smiled and said, “nevermind that” and drove away.

—————————————————————————————————————-

It was party time and everyone was getting steadily drunk and mellow, when one of the guys we were partying with announced his intention to go home. He was obviously drunk and people expressed their hesitation on letting him drive home alone, but did not do anything about it for fear that he might lash out at them. He’s one of those people who gets pissing mad at nothing in particular when drunk. He is also big and intimidating, inspiring fear on the other party people. One guy in the group, Mark, took control and stopped the car from leaving. Mark got inside and saw that the driver was bleeding on the head. He took the driver out and sat him in front of me, all the while soliciting help from people. It turns out, the driver bumped his head when he slipped on the way to his car. The big, drunken guy was stubborn and insisted on driving home, but Mark stole his car keys. Yelling for his keys and spouting expletives, we dragged the guy inside the house and sat him on a couch. I was asked by Mark to tend to the drunken one’s wounds while he stood out of the way so that the other guy won’t be able to tear him apart looking for his keys. In appreciation of Mark’s concerned gesture for the other guy, I agreed. My unorthodox means of keeping the drunken guy in check raised some eyebrows, particularly that of a very jealous admirer who was also in the party. But I didn’t mind it. I will not throw away the essence of Mark’s unselfish gesture to help another person just to soothe the ego of an admirer.

——————————————————————————————————————

It is definitely easier to say “I don’t give a f*ck” than to go out of your way to help a person in need. And even easier to say “it’s your fault, so you deserve whatever it is that will happen to you”. It is also safer not to meddle with things that you deem not of your concern, because sometimes the meddling itself will mean putting yourself in front of imminent danger.

The rationale behind heroic deeds is simple really: a person cannot live with himself if he lets another person get into trouble when he was in the perfect position to prevent that from happening.

This attitude will definitely shorten a person’s lifespan, as shown by multitudes of stories about people who tried to stop a squabble by mediating, and ended up getting stabbed by one or both of the fighting parties. However, when a normal person takes that leap, that crossing of the line between what is “safe” and what should be done, he instantly levels himself to the ranks of the men in history who did the right things and changed the world. It is not only the famous philanthropists who should be credited for doing stuff that benefits others, everyone may have this same sense of goodness in them that shows in the things that they do for their fellowmen. If they WANTED to.

When faced with accolades and recognition, these heroes will probably say “anyone could have done it, not just me”, which is not entirely correct. Not everyone has that same sense of empathy and concern. Not everyone will go for the difficult way to live. In fact, most people will probably just exist as boarders in this universe, without much concern for their neighbors. Most people will just survive on their own as islands.

Stories of magnificent feats abound as hearsays and passed-on tales. I take notice of these and continue my struggle to search for my own inner hero (or heroine *smiles*). People may prefer to keep their good deeds private, and it takes an insightful person to recognize them as they are. If I were in charge of everything, I would publish every single concerned deed that has ever been done, so that those (like me) who would rather not give a damn about another person will get a wake-up call and look around to see that they are not alone in the world.

• If you liked this post please subscribe to my feed. Or scroll down and leave a comment.