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.
