Holding out for a hero? Sir Ranulph Fiennes' talk on 'Living Dangerously' was a good start. For an hour he held a hall of several hundred people hanging on his words. Under a fine turn of phrase and wry sense of humour, we glimpsed a man with almost superhuman tenacity and courage. He is a true an ad-venturer: one who left home and ventured out into the world, to see what he could find.
We all need heroes for our age, people who live just outside the confines of ordinary existence. A little larger than life, they straddle the bounds of humdrum humanity. A hero must excel both physically and morally: strong and enduring, they use their powers for the common good . He (or she) needs emotional intelligence, the ability to connect with people, even more than intellectual ability. Heroes are important because they represent the best in us: they remind us of what we can aspire to.
Few heroes live to enjoy the fruits of their travails: whom the gods love generally die young. Ranulph Fiennes suffered a major heart attack several years ago. He has since continued to live dangerously, recently running seven marathons on seven continents, also in aid of charity. We can all be grateful that the gods realized he still had work on earth to do. PS Go out and buy his book now! It is the next best thing to doing it all yourself.
Life Works is an ad hoc, alternative and occasionally aspirational approach to everyday life. Drawing on a combination of sense, sensibility and ancient wisdom it shows the relevance of mythic themes and archetypal figures to the modern world. Jane Bailey Bain teaches mythology in West London. Her book 'LifeWorks' was published in January 2012. For more information and further postings, visit the main LifeWorks site at http://janebaileybain.wordpress.com/
