- The Heroic Imagination. The good doctors also identified a key element shared by people who act heroically: the ability to imagine themselves doing the right thing, being the hero. Fiction, fantasy and myth help cultivate this, believe it or not-but only when approached the right way. When you read or watch a tale of epic bravery, do you put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist? Do you imagine what you would do if you confronted the same dangers? When the movie is over, do you take this standard out into your everyday life? You don't need a "What Would Aragorn Do" bumper sticker. Just use your imagination. On your way to work, what would you do if a highway bridge collapsed? What's your first move if your office catches fire? What skills might you want to learn to help someone in the water when there's no lifeguard?
When people cultivate their heroic imagination, society improves. More people are willing to speak up when someone is bullying. Pagans are in a unique position to fill the shoes of latter-day heroes. Pagans weave myth into their lives more than almost any other group. If that myth is a fantasy, a story you tell yourself to get away from stress, the only person it helps is you. But if that myth is a template, a template for how you respond to adversity in the real world, you might just become a hero.
I've never done anything heroic in my life, and maybe I never will. Heroism is, in my opinion, an emergent process: a quest more than a destination.
What does it mean to you?
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