Well, Johnny, said his Mom, as she closed the book, thats it for dragons tonight. As she tucked him under the covers, she noticed that he was frowning. Do you have something on your mind, son? I think St. George had it easy. No, he didnt he killed the dragon. It wasnt easy at all. Anyone can kill a dragon, Mom. Its not hard. Just stick him with your lance. She kissed him on his brow and started to walk out of the room. You know whats hard, Mom? asked Johnny. Sighing, Agnes returned and sat on the side of the bed. You know, Momanyone can kill a dragon. What is real hard is waking up every morning and trying to love people all over again. That takes a real hero. There comes a time in every life when people face a day of reckoning. For some it comes early. For others late. Possibly, for a few it never comes. On that day, you ask: Did I help someone, did I do well by someone, did I make a difference? Did I love myself, did I love other people, did I love the world? Its easy enough to just drift through life and whittle it away, one uncaring day after another, preoccupied with just trying to survivebut thats not what this entire earth journey is about at all. Did you give back to others? Did you love enough? Did you laugh with anyone? Did you understand anothers pain? Did you make a small effort to leave things better than you found them? Perhaps you dont have a prescient little soul like Johnny in your life to remind you of the deeper thingsbut you can still be a hero any day. Theres much more to life than just slaying dragons. Who did you help today? Who did you hurt today? Who did you thank today? Who did you forgive today? And how will you do it better tomorrow? What will you betoday, and tomorrow? What will you do with the rest of your life? Will you keep on slaying dragons or be a hero? |
