As a society I think we’ve done a poor job in choosing our heroes. More often than not our heroes are either people born with tremendous physical talents or good looks. They may have worked hard to enhance those talents, but really how difficult was that? And how much light do their lives provide to society?

For me, the truly inspirational are those born into difficult situations, the mentally and physically handicapped, the homeless and addicted children and those born into abusive situations. Their life paths are not easy, comfortable or in many cases long.

They have much to offer society through reminding us what is important. Many demonstrate courage and perserverance. Many demonstrate resilience. Many light society with their sparkling smiles and spirits.

But their most important gift to society is their simple presence – The reminder that no matter how tough we may think our lives are, someone else has it tougher. That the things that often get us down – having or being less than someone else – do not matter.

Their lives are daily reminders for us to be kind to others – and most importantly ourselves.

Timothy Velner is a husband, father, attorney and author living in Minneapolis. You can follow his daily blog – a series of discussions between the worry-self and the present-self at – thespiritualgym.me