The Philippine Online Chronicles

It is the teacher who teaches us the value of good friendship or the one who makes us have a better appreciation for trigonometry. It is the teacher who sits us down, acknowledging that yes, in high school, image and clique status matters a lot, but subtly makes us see that discovering our talents and honing these things that make us distinct matter more. The everyday hero is the teacher who makes the most stubborn of students understand that. An everyday hero is like a megaphone, amplifying the goodness that already exists. Back in school, we just needed to be guided most times. That’s how she may have helped us become better persons today.

Heroes can be seen in old married couples who continue to hold hands and gaze at each other like honeymooners. Love is not easy. Weathering many years of marriage is sure to come with a lot of trials. Those who stick by each other through all those obstacles are true heroes. They don’t quit on each other. They recognize the value of being strong for each other. They may not come out of all those trials unscathed, but it does push them to become better partners, even better parents. Best of all, they inspire others with their love story, with the evolution of their partnership. Everyday heroes teach by example. Genuine love inspires. These old married couples teach us that love is not a fairy tale, that it’s not handed to anyone on a silver platter by a kiss from a prince or an elusive glass slipper. Love takes hard work but rewards most beautifully. Whether it’s their simple act of holding hands or the re-telling of their journey as a couple, these couples inspire us to become better partners, to become better versions of ourselves for our partners every day.

When we begin drawing strength from the stories of those weaker than us, we may just have met an unlikely hero. This is the story of a little girl in a hospital. Suffering a severe throat sickness, the little girl had a contraption on her neck that aided in her breathing. Without it she wouldn’t be able to breathe, her nurse shared. The little girl stayed in the hospital day in and day out, her condition monitored by many doctors and nurses. Despite the pain and inconvenience of the contraption, the little girl was all smiles. We suddenly forget the reason why we’re at the hospital. Was it a headache that made us go for a check-up? Was it a stomach ache? We can’t recall. The story of the little girl was enough to cure it all. Her strength was our cure.

Traffic jams bring about everyday heroes. When traffic enforcers go missing and intersections come at a bind, there is usually that one man who steps out of his car and begins navigating traffic. He may be in a suit. Sometimes he’s a bystander in rags who steps in to unclog the streets, then goes about his merry way once the knots are undone. There’s the taxi driver who sees us struggling with a stalled car. Without hesitation, he helps us out with our cross engine and brings our car back to life. No payment is required and he even refuses it. But we insist. We know the payment is not enough to capture the gratitude we have for the kindness this stranger showed. We drive away, thankful for the kindness of strangers, and resolve to pay it forward.

Everyday heroes are those who inspire us to become better versions of ourselves –better students, better partners, better citizens. Their acts may not be as grand as those that we read in history books, but they too are heroic. They may even be more valuable as they more directly move us to do something positive, to carry on the goodness that they showed and taught us. That’s what everyday heroes are – they amplify the goodness that already exists. Best of all, they inspire us to do the same.

Toni Tiu is a strategic planning consultant by profession and a writer by passion. She considers her husband to be her everyday hero – her mentor in optimism, her inspiration for hard work and her partner in parenthood. She shares stories on home, living and parenting in her personal blog Wifely Steps.