A Hero or Not?

Everybody gets to be a hero at least once in their life.


Everybody gets to be a hero at least once in their life,

Some through being at the right place at the right time,

Others by facing a fight to survive with courage,

Many still face the process of dying with dignity and grace.

My theory is that everyone gets to be a hero once in their lives.



Me – I’m one of the lucky few,

I get to play hero time and time again,

As I live with my disability I get to inspire,

Others I meet along the way in this journey called life,

Everybody gets to be a hero at least once in their life.



For some it’s just being a mum or a dad,

For others is fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq,

For some it's their job and being able to save lives,

Or running a marathon,

Everybody gets to be a hero at least once in their life.



I happen to be one of the lucky few,

Who gets to be a hero by the way I live life,

I’ve challenged others that life is only what you make it,

You get the choice to choose to embrace it,

Or let life control and destroy you.



Life is for living for ceasing the day,

It’s for meeting the challengers that are bound to come your way,

It’s for making the best of the life you’ve been given,

It’s choosing to see the good and not always the bad,

Everyone can choose to live as a hero for one day of their life.



I’ve had the chance to play hero to the young and the old,

To teach others to embrace chances given to them,

To see the possibilities not the hurdles along the way,

I’ve sat with young children and told how my brain don’t quite work,

I’ve belted out my words among poets.



I’ve spoke to a stadium of teenagers hanging on my to every word,

I’ve reached out to drug addicts on the streets of Auckland,

I’ve issued challenges to uni students; ‘If I can, they can too!’

Reduced a room of grown men to tears encouraging them to face fears,

Amongst those I’ve spoke to I suspect I was a hero to some.



I shown to many that dreams can come too,

You can let the knockers defeat you or hold your head up high.

You can believe those who say it can’t be done,

Or believe in yourself and get the job done,

Having the chance to be a hero to some.



My greatest joy in life is being a hero to those close too me,

My nieces and nephews that only see me,

My friends who are encouraged by the way I live life,

The people I work with who I get to inspire.

Everybody gets to be a hero at least once in their life.

Debbie Chilton Nov, 2010