[twitter style=”horizontal” source=”katiemotivates” float=”left”][fbshare type=”button”]
Not every hero wears a cape or a badge or even a uniform. Some heroes are those that can offer calm assurance while the world is seemingly collapsing.
One of my gentlest friends found himself in a bad spot. The bottom dropped out. Walls crashing down. A total shitstorm for a friend who is nothing but kind, respectful, and ridiculously introverted. I recognize that perhaps this chaos was his own invention, but he never imagined this scenario playing out in this way. He was scared, and he was hurting, and I couldn’t do a damn thing for him.
I am the fixer, the nurturer, the healer for those that beckon, those brave enough to say they are falling apart, those willing to send the text message that simply says “help.” I will show up at any hour if I am needed, wanted. I have held hands with the grieving, made soup for the sick, listened all night long without judging those who are struggling with sobriety, and crawled in bed fully dressed in the middle of the day to curl up with the heartbroken. Whatever’s needed, I will do, but in this most recent instance, I couldn’t help, and that hurt my heart; I couldn’t soothe this away.
I had to reach out to get my friend help; I sent a few texts to the only person I believed I could genuinely trust to help, reaching out to a friend that I hoped would recognize the urgency and respond quickly…and that’s where this story finds its hero.
This hero answered promptly, acted quickly, and showed up on what should’ve been his day off to assist. He brought knowledge and expertise, but more importantly, he brought calm and compassion to my shattered friend; this hero soothed fears that were beyond my reach. He brought professionalism, but he also brought heart. Some heroes rise from their own foray into hell kinder, stronger, and smarter, their own hardest days shaping them to offer empathy and benevolence to those still fighting similar battles.
After I sent out the text asking for help for my friend in need and I got a message back from the hero of this story saying he’d assist even on his day off, I sobbed, totally relieved. I am sure my response via text was my typical snarky smartass bullshit, but tears were raining down on my phone and on my typing fingers as I felt that wave of gratitude wash over me. I remember exhaling a great sigh so hard, like I’d been unknowingly holding my breath for an hour.
I still don’t know how this story ends, but I know the hero remains the hero no matter what dragons emerge. I have reverence for a healer who doesn’t operate with my same methods, but he is a healer, a fixer, all the same, even though he might shrug off such titles. He has put my broken, sweet friend back together a couple times. I am filled with a grateful admiration for the hero doing what I could not.
My favorite heroes are the ones who don’t even realize what great good they’ve already done.