What happens When You Find Out Your Hero Isn't Perfect?

Today we were all raring to go about our plans to run some important errands when we had a moment of disillusionment. You know the kind, like when you find out an actor who played "the perfect nice person" in a movie, did something in real life that doesn't seem nice and kind?  I think sometimes these moments are glossed over, or written off, before they are really examined and understood. And as a result stay as a little thorn of disappointment inside our minds. 

"Hero" is not about being perfect

The good news is that we can go back and examine these memories or moments, and release them through understanding. And today we did shake of the disillusionment with some reflection. It's up to you how deep you go. A simple understanding would be something like "you know, nobody's perfect." As we know only good things happen on purpose, and we all space out and make mistakes we didn't mean to do.  If we don't let someone who was/is our hero off the hook (for not being perfect), how can we let ourselves?  So long as we keep learning and growing, rest assured, we are all doing good! 

A "Perfect" Hero Would be Hard to Learn From

There are a lot of interesting aspects of the hero motif. One thing I noticed in thinking about this, is that a lot of the creative inspiring people out there have some pretty diverse lives. For example, the rapper (or what we like to call beat-dropper) Eminem. Now, we don't advocate swearing here at the Blueberry Planet - that's not our vibe. But nor do we ignore the darker things in the world. We just choose to focus on the good as often as we can. We think his openness about his struggles to transcend his childhood is quite powerful. What he teaches would have little meanng if he had a perfect childhood. And given the childhood he did have, he is bound to have challenges in breaking the generational patterns. But he is working through it, and sharing it with others who may relate, which is what is so admirable.

Even Nelson Mandela spent years in prison (granted, not for violence or real crime, but still). And think of the singers with the amazingly beautiful voices, singing of things that are so sad. The beautiful art created by painters when they are going through difficult times. Not all beautiful things are happy, not at first. But if you get the lesson and grow from it, that is happy indeed.

Flowers from Stone

A cool thing happens when you look even more deeply at the contrast in these inspirations and role models. You start to see that sometimes the most beautiful things grow out of the darkness, and we like to remember that here at the Blueberry Planet.  In fact, we think that often it is because it came from darkness, and against all odds the person (or plant or animal) survives, breaks through to the light, and thrives, that makes it so beautiful.

We once wrote a song/poem about one of our dear friends, who has been through some very difficult things when he was young. Understanding the past is a huge key to reconciling the apparent contradictions in someone you hold in high regard.

But something changes in you forever
when love is born and takes you over
when you've seen the sweetest eyes
and the heartbreak of time
what cruelty can do to a child's mind
like those flowers that grow out of stone,
the miracles of nature
no one could have predicted or known.

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