This got me thinking . . .

I accompanied my mother to her dentist yesterday to get dental implants. My sister was supposed to go with her, but she had a last minute meeting that she can’t cancel. So, since my plans were less important than her, I had to cancel it to go with my mother.

So, anyway, as I was waiting for my mother, a woman came in with her 3-year old son. The kid sat beside me and started skimming through the magazine in front of him. He seemed so engrossed in what he was reading. He suddenly looked at me and asked, “What’s a superhero?”

Good question. The kid actually got me thinking. Do I tell him about the superheroes whose lives only exist on the pages of a comic book or within the screens of the movies? Would he actually understand if I tell him about the lives of George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.?

So, who is a hero?

When the catastrophic hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, many lives and properties were lost. Flood was everywhere, cars were overturned, and a large area was left with no electricity. But behind the remnants of the storm were unsung heroes who came out of nowhere. Men and women who risked their lives to help people in need. Kind-hearted individuals who rushed to give shelter to their fellow victims during and after the storm. People who saved others they hardly knew. Brothers aiding brothers. The list goes on and on.

What’s common to these people is their power of compassion. The power no one can take away from them; a power without limitation. And as long as there are people in need, their willpower to help is there, in exchange for nothing. Superheroes in their own rights. They need not be given plaques or recognition just to be called heroes. They are heroes in everyone’s heart.

Now, that’s who the real heroes are. The kid would surely learn a lot from these heroes.