Recently, when I’ve had a spare moment, I’ve been reading about famous people, one such Pete Seeger who left us this past year after a rich and giving life.
Discounting his own fame he said, “….there are people in every community who are extraordinary – a woman who might have raised six children on her own and not a one of them ever got into trouble, or someone who made one contribution or another to the quality of life in the small town – and you never got to hear about them, but their neighbors know who they are. …..they never got publicized. Maybe once, when they die. People wonder why such a big crowd turns out at their funerals, but their neighbors know.”
This got me thinking about the behavior analysts and teachers I work with and have worked with who focus extraordinary efforts on a daily basis to improve and enrich the lives of individuals much less fortunate than themselves. The reinforcement they receive comes primarily and simply from what they do. This is important and selfless work. They are ‘ordinary heroes’.