All our Heroes have Pimples

We look up to our "heroes",
The ones that we see as heroic,
The ones that we admire and try to emulate.

We see the best of them because we want to. We see the best of them and it illuminates the best within us. In a way heroes are a type of mirror. A mirror for our potential and an escape from our own self imposed mundane nature.

We see the heroes as leaders and at times more perfect than we think that we are. Why is that?

We have been sold the idea of heroes through stories of the past. Classic stories that show how we should act in the world. Every hero tends to be defined by some type of resistance. A good versus evil narrative or a moral versus immoral type of framework. An ascension myth towards a "greater good".

We tend to pick and form the stories that give us the most meaning. We do our best to imagine us in the hero's shoes. 

It is built into us to be attracted towards heroic narratives because it tends to reflect how we see our potential. We know we could all be heroes if we were really committed and passionate about pursuing some fight for or against something. A hero starts out by not being a hero. It is the journey and the intentional actions that define the heroes that go against all odds. Heroes do not align with complacency and the mundane. Heroes aim for the highest potential and attempt to transcend the norm and what they think they are capable of.

Heroes are like a game of telephone. A copy of a copy of a copy. 
Each image of the hero is mimicked, but slightly morphs revealing the underbelly of the construct.

We see heroes as the top of the hierarchy whether we are conscious of it or not. We aspire to be like them or at least take pieces of them and apply them to the lives that we live to give more meaning and purpose. When we feel like we are not going in the "right direction" we tend to stagnate and feel worn down by the routine and drudgery all around us. (Most of it being self imposed). It is the belief in this Hero Hierarchy that makes us want to create stories to tell and watch even if we have seen the versions of the same story over and over. Most of the stories of the past contain heroes that have done the "right" thing (Moral Signaling) in a time of conflict and confusion. Most of us would like to think that we would do the right thing in a time of strife, but we could easily go with the flow of the status quo. The hero type goes against the grain of what is easy and acceptable in order to transcend his or herself and ultimately prove a point or lesson in doing so. The hero archetype is built on growth and moving towards the highest potential.

The image of the hero relies on acting upon virtue. A hero may act to go against something that doesn't align with his or her principles because it is either the right thing to do or they feel like nothing else could be done. The hero tends to marry irrationality with emotion and reason.

It feels good when we are called a hero or when we think that what we are doing is heroic. (emphasis on "feels") The hero is a title and label based around idealism. When we see the "hero" as being flawless in our head it creates more space between what we think we are and what we think a hero is deep down. Seeing someone as a hero tends to eliminate or disregard the flaws and failures of the person in question. It can blind us and make us see stars. Even if they are not a real person, the hero ideal can tend to distort our perception of the world around us. The hero archetype tends to lean on a reductionist view. The more we try to define what a hero is, the more we separate ourselves from what we can achieve or even accept about ourselves.

Heroes are made up of stories. Much like emotions are stories about the feelings we have. They are both intertwined. That is why there is so much appeal to the Hero Construct. It hits at the heart of the matter. 

The Hero Myth has value because we give it value. Simply, we act as if the idea of the hero exists. 

What defines the authenticity of the hero? That is a good question. When we comb over the formulaic stories we have been conditioned to in the past, we can see that heroes tend to be far from perfect, but the actions they perform and the character they project tend to overlook the overall journey it took to become a so called hero. The hero cycle formula has its ups and downs. The downs present challenges for the hero to rise up against. They might fail at first, but bounce back even more resilient at the next attempt. This is what makes stories interesting and we can all relate to failure, conflict and solving problems in one form or another. Although hero cycles may be more of the same thing with different variations, there is a reason it is so ubiquitous and successful in the society we currently inhabit.

The Hero Cycle always deals with a variation on a theme. It is familiar and that is why it is successful. 

If anything it is the shortcomings that tend to make us relate more to heroes. When we see the errors in their ways, we see the errors within our own self image. Heroes are projections and reflections of who we already are and have always been. A hero tends to always have a need to conquer some adversity and compensate for something they do not have. If heroes didn't act with such heavy compensatory mechanisms, there would be no growth and no interest in their actions.

The Hero is a master of projection. He/She wants to mold the world in the image they think it should be based on their own conditioning and moral compass. The Hero thinks and then acts out, but sometimes in the opposite order. Most of the time the heroic process requires risky action or at least the willingness to challenge everything they have ever known. In order to enter the unknown, one must embrace the uncertainty of the road ahead. Get the picture?

A Hero might reach for the stars and never reach it, but that is the point. It is the act of reaching for the highest means to an end that matters the most. 

When a hero faces himself in the mirror and does not look away or ignore who he or she really is, they embody the idea of the hero. If the person shuns themselves and tries to escape from their demons, they slowly become the embodiment of the "villain". It is the old adage of "facing your fears" or "battling your demons" before they get too big and engulf you. We can see this as entertainment and the interaction between ourselves and other people in our own lives.

It is easy to break things down in binaries. We can see heroes as having strengths and weaknesses. Both being little categorical boxes that we can easily make sense of. In reality it is more complicated and a little more murky in nature. The strengths and weaknesses interplay with each other to create opportunities and calls towards growth. A rise to a new challenge if you will. If there was no "lack" within the soul of the hero, there would be no need to try to fill that lack. There would be no journey, only stagnation. You cannot have strengths without the feelings, events and problems that allow for a self awareness to become more from what is or move away from what is seen as wrong or weak.

The heroic journey is centered around moving from the known to the unknown and then back to a new heightened state of knowledge of wisdom. It is continual cycle. A dance of moving between the call to the adventure, transformation and the abyss! 

The essence of the hero story is conflict. There may be an actual villain or a series of obstacles that present a challenge on the path of the hero. Virtue also requires conflict. This is why there are so many moral lessons entangled within the hero narrative. Virtue is the currency for the heroic narrative. If someone was just okay with being who they are without striving for virtue or meaning, there would no heroic story. Heroic narratives can be as small and big as we make them out to be. Washing the dishes or attempting to complete a small task within a limited time span could be seen as being heroic in nature. Heroes do not always require a situation of life and death. Heroes jump at the opportunity to get creative with the limits presented to them. Heroes act with what they got and as if there is opportunity in uncertainty.

Our idea of what a hero is centers around the pursuit of something "hard". Something bigger than ourselves and what we think we can do. The mere thought of what the hero faces might make us tremble or anxious, but deep down we feel that they might have the potential to move forward and conquer what is ahead. Transcendence is what makes the hero. Not the tacit acceptance of what is or what should be. The risk is the biggest reward in the heroic narrative.

DG