Why You're a Great Hero

And I'll prove it

“Sometimes I wish I’d been a hero. Like Ulysses, on a long journey to discover the world. But also who I am. To discover my limits, to enjoy adventures. Like Achilles, taking part in legendary battles. But… I only have this life and this routine.”

Listening to these words, I couldn’t help but think. Is this young person disappointed? He aspires to more. But he forgets that he’s already a hero. All of you, when you arrive on earth, are great heroes. You have nothing to envy these legendary heroes. Like Heracles, you’ve been given labor. Only legendary courage will allow you to face them.

Labor 1: Live

Torn from your mother’s gentle shelter. You didn’t choose it, but you’re here. Your first experience of this new world is of pain, blood and tears. Defenseless. At the mercy of others. You have to survive the first few years with no autonomy.

Labor 2: Learn

To conquer this new world. You’ll have to learn everything. First, how to stand on fours. Then on two feet. Understand the meanings of sounds. Understand the meanings of pictures. Understand words, understand sentences. In this vast, unknown world. Everything is new to you.

Labor 3: Finding a meaning 

Once you’ve settled on your feet. You’ll grow. After a while, a strange feeling will come over you. A feeling that lodges deep in your heart. It’s not enough to live. You have to find a reason. A meaning. This quest for meaning is a quest in itself. It will take a lot of courage and exploration to find your life’s path.

Labor 4: Building your life

No one asked you if you wanted to be here. And yet, here you are, trying to find meaning. Trying to build a destiny. Building a home, a nest of safety for you and your loved ones. With your skilled hands, you’ll perform tasks. With the knowledge of your hands, you’ll build a life. You will become the carpenter of your destiny. You who knew nothing, now know much. How far you’ve come!

Labor 5: Defending yourself

Child, teenager, adult. This world will sometimes be hostile. You’ll have to defend yourself against aggression. You just want to live. But society surrounds us. Visible and invisible rules govern it. You’ll have to discover and understand the power plays. Find your place so as not to be crushed. Learn how to be respected. The law of the strongest is sometimes the best. You’ll find that out the hard way.

Labor 6: Defending your ideas 

Your body will be attacked, but don’t underestimate the attacks on your mind. Your opponents will do everything they can to put you in a corner. You’ll discover a world where it’s not always the fairest who wins.

Labor 7: Seeing those you love suffer

Body and mind will be under attack, but the world’s attacks will also be directed at your loved ones. Your natural love will drive you to protect them. You put yourself on the front line of their defense. It takes courage to fight for yourself. It takes even more courage to fight for others. Under these attacks, some of your loved ones will suffer. Sometimes you’ll be powerless. We can’t help them. Impossible to ease their pain. A living hell.

Labor 8: Don’t betray yourself

You’ll build your values. Your philosophy of life. Life will test you. Life will want to corrupt you. To make you lose your values. To make you betray your convictions. You’ll have to resist your own shadow. Triumph over external enemies, but also over the most powerful of all, the enemy within.

Labor 9: Resisting the siren song

The human body is weak. Easily succumbing to accessible temptations. Deadly sins will roam around you. Your senses will be under incessant attack. Gluttony, lust, sloth… the sirens will do everything to lure you into their depths and devour you alive.

Labor 10: Rise when you fall

You will fall. Because to err is human. Some failures will take you deep into the world of the mind. A place without light. Where every breath is a torment. A place where the slightest movement is harder. Crushed by the weight of a suffocating environment. And yet… You’ll have to survive this journey. Find the strength to return to the surface. In the dark, finding your way back. From the depths to the surface. For yourself and for the world.

Labor 11: Accept the ravages of time 

Everything you know will grow old. And you’ll watch helplessly as time takes its toll on bodies and minds. This father and this mother, the heroes of your childhood, will grow old. Their movements will slow. Their fatigue will be constant. Your heart will bleed at your inability to help. Your grandparents, who had blessed you with so much affection, will disappear. Then the time will come when your hair begins to turn white. You’ll physically feel the weight of time on your body. You’ll be ready for the last labor.

Labor 12: Accept your mortality 

Everything you know will grow old. But everything you know will die. Terrifying thought. But it’s the unilateral contract life has drawn up for you. The only assured destination of our destiny. All labors have required courage. But this one will require the utmost valor. Accepting to do everything you’re going to do while accepting the idea that everything you’ve done will one day disappear. Find the vital strength to overcome this nihilistic thinking.

Given the difficulty of these labors. The epic quest you face. I can assure you. No need to fantasize about Greek heroes or legendary confrontations. To defeat a hydra. A frightening medusa or a giant bull.

You inherit a world imposed on you. A quest you must face without choosing. You face it bravely, every day. That makes you one of the greatest heroes the world has ever known.