Heroes

When I went to Bella Luna this weekend, I took an address book so I could gather information about my friends in one, easily accessible place. Today I found a note my friend, Cat, had left me that I thought expressed a very beautiful sentiment:

"Brian-
I love you. May you find inspiration, love, and joy in this new journey. Knowledge, light, and joy always reign supreme. Thank you for being my hero.
Cat"

The following is my reply, but as I was writing it, I thought others may wish to read it as well:

"I just found the message you left in the back of my address book. Thank you so much. I feel very honored (or honoured, as the Brits might spell) that you think so highly of me. I've certainly been very inspired by my heroes in this world and if I can reflect some of what they've been teaching, then I am happy. I'm pumped to be doing Good and am excited to hopefully work at becoming an even better human being. Ever since I was really little, I've always felt it necessary that I should make sacrifices for Humanity. I was raised in the Methodist church and, while most people wanted to worship Jesus, I wanted to be like him...to give of myself in some great way-albeit, I wasn't too keen on the whole dying thing. Later in life, I took a Buddhism class that had a profound impact on me. The idea of the Boddhisatva (sp?)--one who is, essentially enlightened, but waits to go to Nirvana to stay behind and help others attain enlightenment--greatly intrigued me. In the end, I feel that my heart is bursting with love and I need only direction to help many people. I hope that this is only one small step in the Good that I do in this lifetime. "

I hope you all enjoyed this little bit of insight. And, Cat, I hope you didn't mind me posting what you wrote (if so, let me know and I'll take it out of this entry).

Peace, Love, and Happiness,
Brian