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May 12, 2013

My Hero


This past week an amazing turn of events found three women alive who had each been missing for nearly a decade. The young women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight had each been kidnapped and held against their will in an unassuming house in suburban Cleveland. Although there were a few instances of neighbors reporting suspicious activity, for the most part their captivity went completely unnoticed. That was until the gentleman living next door, Charles Ramsey, heard the panicked shouts of Amanda Berry trying to escape and came to their aid.

Mr. Ramsey is being portrayed on TV and throughout the internet as a hero. I’ve watched videos of this man explaining the circumstances surrounding the escape, and what comes across is a man who views what he did as simply the right thing to do. According to CNN News:  “Within hours of becoming a national hero, and a viral video star, Charles Ramsey talked about having trouble getting sleep. It wasn't because of all the excitement that followed his knocking down a Cleveland neighbor's door, freeing three women and a girl who police say were held hostage for years. Instead, Ramsey told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday; it was about knowing he had lived for a year near the captive women on the city's West Side. ‘Up until yesterday the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money,’  the restaurant dishwasher said, ‘I could have done this last year, not this hero stuff,’ said Ramsey. ‘Just do the right thing.’”

It is his humbleness accompanied by his actions that make him a true hero, as this week’s message relays. The true heroes of the world are the ones who act simply because it is the thing to do, not for the expectation of fanfare or to feed the ego. It’s all of the things we do to help support another when we don’t think anyone is looking. And speaking of heroism, let’s not forget the heroic acts of those women who undoubtedly supported one another, and by doing so, all survived. Those three women, along with Mr. Ramsey, are all my heroes.

With Love.

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From Over There:
“The concept of hero is recognized through the eyes of another, not through self. When one promotes themself in the perception of hero, it is to gain recognition or reward and is not selfless. This individual, while they may provide benefit to others, does not perceive the connection of all.

 It is the individual who understands the value in helping another when there is no expectation of reward or compensation, or need for recognition of the act who greatest matches your concept of hero. This is a mindset based on the principles of a unified existence. This way of interaction is the natural course of evolution. The concept of hero is the way all on the path to enlightenment are meant to be.”

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Featured Guest: Jaycee Dugard & the JAYC Foundation, Inc
In 1991, Jaycee was kidnapped by two strangers from a bus stop in her hometown of Lake Tahoe. She survived years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her two assailants. She was finally reunited with her mother and family in 2009, eighteen years after she was taken.Founder Jaycee Lee Dugard has a vision of providing, supporting and ensuring the timely treatment of families that are recovering from abduction and the aftermath of other traumatic experiences. From that vision The JAYC Foundation was created.The Foundation’s message is “Just Ask Yourself to Care”. We believe that by empowering the whole family you heal the central victim. Our mission is to be of service to families that have suffered a familial or nonfamilial abduction or other trauma and to spread the word of compassion and awareness through educational programs. We connect families to support and services they need in order to recover from the abduction or other traumatic events, such as returning from military deployment or a major natural disaster. To learn more, please visit thejaycfoundation.org.

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