As I reflect on the past month of the many tragedies that have hit so many people I know ( the Minnesota bridge collapse, the floods in southern Minnesota, the largest forest fire in northern Minnesota's history near our cabin in May, and the ongoing fears related to the war in Iraq, global climate change and the economy), I am struck with the resiliency of ordinary people. I am amazed at how tragedy and crisis often bring out the best in us.
Take for example, the school bus driver who was on the 35W bridge collapse who became an overnight national hero for doing what he said, "anyone would have done the same thing in my situation. I didn't really even think about it--I just knew what to do." In the process he risked his own life and saved all of the children on the bus who were terrified. This courageous young man was an "ordinary hero." Not a John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, just an ordinary guy, who rose to the occasion.
Or, the husband who saved his wife and a neighbor from drowning in the recent Minnesota flood and lost his own life. He too was an overnight hero--just an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things.
Where does this courage in the face of fear and danger come from? Why do people seem to act so selflessly, so wisely, so courageously in extraordinary circumstances, but not in everyday life?
I believe that they are not anymore special than you or me. They just acted from their true Self. They probably couldn't explain it later, they just acted as Nike says, "Do it!". When we drop our personal sense of self (the ego) we connect to who we really are--the true Self. This true Self is that core of our being that is connected to everyone and everything else. It is our spirit. When we are connected to our true Spirit we do the extraordinary.
Tomorrow I am interviewing six ordinary heroes to make a video to show at my seminars and on my website. I chose these people because they all have one thing in common--they all faced extraordinary circumstances (rape, floods, cancer, brain tumor, an accident) with remarkable ease, fearlessness, humor, and inspiration to all those around them. They were able to access an understanding of the source of their experience--their own thinking and creating of experience--and they chose to live from their healthy Self and not their habits of ego.
I will be posting what I discover in these interviews with you and let you in on their secret--the ability to maintain equanimity and calm in a terrifying situation.
Stay tuned!
I look forward to having a conversation with you about how you too can live a fearless life, no matter what is happening to you and around you or even just in the world in which we now live. I look forward to hearing your stories of ordinary heroes and hope you will share them with me on my blog.
If you want to know more about me, my new book "Fearproof Your Life," and how you can discover this understanding for yourself, go to my website.Live Fearlessly!
Joe Bailey
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