Heroes
Well how do you define them? musicians, actors, sporting idols, friends, family; all of the above? I think most of all we need to re-focus and (as a whole), start to cherish those who don’t get a mention. While the death of David Bowie, the loss of Lemmy, Glenn Frey, Alan Rickman and Maurice White are huge losses and who will ever forget Robin Williams and Jonah Lomu, we have all personally felt loss. As a starting point, it is about time that the western world started talking about death as part of the life cycle - and start talking about it sooner! Our personal losses are much more significant than these idols that everyone has worshiped, even if it just the loss of your pet budgie, cat or dog. Many of us have lost someone who have contributed a lot to society, such as doctors, teachers, nurses, psychologists, social workers, those that teach your children to swim, those farmers that work the hours of the sun, or even just the bin guy. We live in a world where we are idolizing the wrong people! Those that save lives, those that help lives get back on track, those that feed us and educate and care for our young and old are the ones who should be receiving our recognition.
While it has been a tough start to 2016 (no-one can deny Bowie’s contribution and who hasn’t sung hotel California or recognised Alan's work), I think of all those who pass into the ether that have helped society more. I must admit my adolescence was through the grunge era, so I felt the loss of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and more recently Scott Weiland quite significantly. However, as great as the contribution that they made to my life has been (especially Layne), those unnamed heroes who spent their lives helping people in their day to day dramas, deserve a mention. Maybe now is the time that the media start turning the camera! As I am speaking as a dreamer, in a world that likes to put people like Kayne West on a pedestal, we still have a long way to go.