Monday, August 20, 2007
Complicated Heroes
Harry Potter: This connection between me and Voldemort, what if the reason for it is that I’m becoming more like him. I just feel so angry, all the time. And what if after everything I’ve been through, something’s gone wrong inside me. What if I’m becoming bad.
Sirius Black: I want you to listen to me very carefully Harry. You’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person, who bad things have happened to. You understand? Besides, the world isn't split into good people and death eaters. We have all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the power we chose to act on. That’s who we really are.-- From Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The Movie
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What makes a hero?
I just watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As cheesy as this sounds, there were several times that I shed tears during the movie. I did not expect to cry because I always told people that the fifth book was my least favorite because it was dark, confusing and sad. This was the book where we saw how pained Harry was, how lonely he felt, how dark he seemed and how angry he became -- of his fate, himself and the people around him. However, it was exactly of this reason why I cried during the film. Though I am no hero, I realized that my struggles in the past (though now almost resolved) were because I felt that I had to face my dark side.
Everyone of us has a dark side -- a side we would rather hide and deny. Somehow though we need to face it because it will otherwise catch up with us. I know mine did. Much like Harry, when my personal Voldemort showed up, started hissing in my ear and clouding my mind -- I felt the struggle.
Despite the struggle though, I made a choice that I wanted to come out a better person out of the experience. Unfortunately, choosing to be a good person proved to be a more difficult decision than I can really describe. It is a difficult decision because there exists a constant struggle between being able to believe and hope that good things are bound to happen versus the reality that bad things are happening.
So many bad things happened to me that not only did it rain and poured but it flooded.
But now the flood is over. The sun is starting to shine upon me again. Good things have been happening lately -- stronger family relationships, having a good job, meeting spiritually enriching people, seeing new places, realizing new things, faithful and loving friends, a stable mindset and a deeper faith. I am at peace.
And like Harry Potter (in the Order of the Phoenix), the thing that kept me fighting is the belief in love and friendship. I fought my personal Voldemort and I only came out a better person in the end.
And much like all the other heroes whose complicated and often sad backgrounds have pushed them to their limits often, I have felt the same. And yet like a hero, I have learned to embrace the person that I am and that my existence has a purpose. Maybe my purpose does not really involve saving the planet from an atomic bomb but still I know I have a purpose.
I am no hero to anyone but I believe that I have (I can have) the heart of one.
2 comments:
Quite amazing the parallels you can draw between Harry Potter and Life init? (Big Mischevious Wink!)
Thanks for your comment on my blog. Really appreciated it
Hi Ladi!
Yeah I know. No wonder it is such a hit!
But you are welcome about the comment. :) You can always talk to me about your challenges. I have been through a lot but now I am getting better one day at a time. ;)
Erica
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