I haven't published a book. I haven't discovered a cure for cancer. I haven't written an amendment into law. There are no statues of my likeness. No one is reading my life's story snuggled up in their bed and being motivated. I didn't invent anything that changed the world. My words aren't engraved in stone. My ideas aren't being heralded as mind blowing. I haven't found a missing child, or brought their abductor to justice. My songs are not being sung in front of a packed audience. My jokes aren't being spread around the Internet. My beauty isn't being sought after. I'm not teaching classrooms of children valuable lessons. There is not a shoe named after me. I have not broken a World record. I have not walked on the moon. I have not developed an engine that runs on air. My name is not being "twitted" about. I am not causing a buzz. I have not fed the masses. I have not saved a life. I haven't changed history. I am not being called to action. I haven't fought in a war. I'm not a genius. I have never been rich. I have not won an Emmy. A Nobel Peace Prize is not in my future. I have never written music. I have never created a doctrine. My life is not Epic. Not many people would sense my loss. I have not painted a masterpiece. I have not found the "missing link". I have not solved a "cold" case. I don't own a patent. I'm not your hero (could I be?). No one will use one of my "quotes" as inspiration, they are not famous. I do not have an Oscar. I am not the "best" at anything. I am not the leader. I won't be the President. I'm not influencing the thoughts of many. My name might die at my funeral. So when does "aspiring to greatness" actually become "achieving greatness"? What makes the switch, from dreaming, to taking a chance and doing, actually happen? Are some great by default? Are others great by the misconceptions of greatness? Do we know our hidden talents? Will we die NEVER knowing them? Is destiny stumbled upon or meticulously scripted? I feel like I have something to offer. Everyday I wake up and think: "I am a good person, I have talents, where can I make the best use of them?". Every night I go to bed dreading waking up to the same cycle of my existence, longing for better,, but still not feeling like I am living life to the fullest (yet). They will take things away from me. I feel lost sometimes. I may be homeless. I may fade out. Can I do what so many others have done, and change the outcome of something that seems to be already written in stone? Many of the people I look up to are not rich. They are not geniuses. They have not achieved what the world would tout as "success". They are the ones who struggle, but wake up smiling. They are the ones who have experienced great loss but still give freely of what they have left. They are: Driven by spirit, led by heart, successful by the measure of friends and family that cherish them. (....maybe this will be my famous quote???) I have been told I will never make it. I have been told no one will ever "want" me. I have been kicked in the face by someone I loved. I have been beat up for buying the wrong kind of corn. WHAT? HUH? REALLY?? I know that sounds odd to add in here, but it changed my life. The triviality of the mistake had no bearing on the punishment given. It was not about the "corn" but about the need for the abuser to find an excuse for their own shortcomings as a person. A blame taken off of "them" for the action and placed on someone else (me) as the wrong doer. It happens to everyone in different degrees at one time or another. I kept that can of corn for years. I used it as a hammer. I used as a reminder that I will never allow myself to be some one's excuse for their wrongful actions. It was dented and unrecognizable on the day I cried and threw it away. I threw it away along with the hatred I had for allowing someone to defile me in that manner. Letting someone take my light and try to snuff it out. The bruises and cuts were the easy parts to heal. The mind and heart took longer. And I still would say "I love him". Not "I am IN love with him", but that I loved parts of him he did not see. I loved what I was trying to bring out of him and thought I was close to revealing to him. I invested my whole being into revitalizing damaged goods and became "damaged goods" doing it..... And that still makes me angry. That still wakes me up at night in a cold sweat. We have all done it. We have all given and not received in kind. We have all lost parts of ourselves to people that were not even worth our waste. (Some of us may still be stuck there now..) Where do you go from here? It's been years for me........... Where do I go from here? Most of the things I mentioned in the first paragraph may be out of my reach.But there is still much to be done. By me, by you, by everyone who looks to us as an example of how to be a good person. I WILL DO, all I can, to be able to say, I HAVE DONE, all I can to influence a better life for those around me. There are unsung heroes on every corner, of every block, in every town, of every state or province, of every country, in every continent, of this world. Just because others don't know your name, does not mean you are not a great hero. The "unmentioned" heroes that still go on doing what others say "can't be done", baby stepping through each struggle and shining endlessly for those around them,, those are the heroes that WILL be exalted one day. So much to be done. So many small victories to win. So many rungs on life's ladder. So many people waiting and watching to see,, .. if you will free fall helplessly... .. or.. ..will you only fall until you find the next ledge to climb back up on! It may take time to find enough ledges to actually start the ascension. and We may descend in the midst of forward progress. But in time, we will make our way back up, only pausing,, to put out a hand to the ones looking up to us as their "HERO". And we have nothing but time.........to hone our "Super Powers"