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“Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.” -Tom Brokaw

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“What is a hero without love for mankind?” -Doris Lessing

Contributing writer Elly Goetz’s article, “Does Experience Shape Our Understanding of God?” is now on HuffPost Religion. The article was originally published in KidSpirit’s God Issue.

“In our modern world, extreme experiences, whether they are good or bad, often cause believers to look to God for answers, comfort, or to share joy or give thanks.”

A chivalrous champion with aplomb,

Protects his dependents and brings calm,

Admired by the masses and feared by his foes,

Yet inside him a demon grows.

From outside he appears as stout as a tree,

With a sword in hand he roams free,

Yet inside him emotions run wild,

His savage mind is riled.

He conquered all that is to be gained,

His name and exploits never waned,

In wealth he reveled and wallowed in fame,

He held up the stars with his sway

Though our hero’s legacy is fine,

It’s peppered with shows of anger and pride,

For even though he conquered the world,

He cared not to tame his capricious mind.

Though undefeated in the field,

Before his fickle mind he kneeled,

Though he had the world to himself,

Inside he remained devoid of wealth.

To face oneself takes strength of mind

And to accept one’s faults and flaws of kinds,

The true enemy is within,

The greatest hero can look inside.

-Nimai Agarwal

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