Saints and Heroes

I struggle with the concept of saints. Their existence implies all sorts of things. First and foremost is that they're gone, looking over us having led a good life among us at some point. Heroes on the other hand are a bit easier for me to get my head around. There they are. You see them. This little piece is about saints and heroes. I'm seeing a lot of them around today and it makes me think they've been around forever. When I say being around I mean just that - walking among us, interacting with us on a daily basis, not floating above.

The Ebola virus has helped me see these folks a little more clearly. Beyond the fear, the fear mongering, the confusion and the missteps, the saints and heroes are out there doing what they do. They're in West Africa caring for people sick and dying from the virus. These saints and heroes come from Cuba, the US, New Jersey, other African nations. They're doctors, nurses, educators and soldiers. They try to heal but also watch parents and children die terrible deaths. They care for children whose siblings and parents die. They care for and support each other. Few of them worry about if and when they can get a flight back to their homeland through travel bans created with some sort of false hope or worse. We should all be forced to watch these saints and heroes more. Watch them care for the sick and try to keep others healthy. Watch them and try to understand their strength and motivation.

They also exist in Texas and Maryland and Nebraska. And when Ebola leaves the front pages, more saints and heroes will be all over, supporting people with cancer and dementia. We'll see them in the streets of Syria and Iraq dragging bodies into hospitals. Saints and heroes trying to bring peace in streets of war - Muslims, Christians and Jews.

The saints and heroes are among us and they should make us feel so foolish about the things we do to create their work. There are others who paint and write and dance and play. Yes, they're here among us but sometimes we just don't see. They're not statues in a church or someone with medals on their chest or people written about in books. If we open our eyes we can see, touch and feel the saints and heroes walking with us. If you're lucky, you'll recognize one and you'll have the opportunity to shake their hand or better yet hug them. What a gift they are to all of us.