We make choices everyday to be a zero and make no effort, or to become spiritual heroes to ourselves and those around us. Elevated souls like the Buddha, Jesus, Ramakrishna, Mohammad, Krishna and Guru Nanak were all spiritual superheroes. They approached life’s many challenges with love, compassion and Self-confidence. From the point of view of a spiritual superhero, they stood strong during the most terrible trials that life threw at them. Their lives tell stories of how attitude and divine inspiration buoyed them up. Buddha’s forbearance as he sought out enlightenment under the Bodhi tree reveals a solid, unshaking inner force. Despite demons, temptations and tempests, he remained unmoved until the light within rose and with it brought Self-realization.

Ramakrishna, an Indian saint who lived in the 1840’s held fast to a very simple life as a temple priest. As a worshiper of Kali, he also explored other ways including merging with Jesus. He became very sick with throat cancer. The suffering made his devotees cringe, but he continued to sing devotional songs to his beloved Kali and inspired many people for generations to come. Not once did he complain of the pain or lament of his physical suffering.

Women saints have also inspired. Mother Teresa is world-renowned for her compassionate service to thousands and thousands of India’s most sick and destitute. She fearlessly embraced the ill and shared her love with them equally. Her Nobel Peace Prize was the ultimate recognition of her spiritual superhero status.

What kind of spiritual superhero would you like to be? What qualities will you need to develop? Go for it!

Bio: Debra Moffitt is the award winning author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life and “Garden of Bliss: Cultivating the Inner Landscape for Self-Discovery” (Llewellyn Worldwide, May 2013). A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices, writing and creativity in the U.S. and Europe. More at http://www.awakeintheworld.com and on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/DebraMoffittAwakeintheWorld