Today is a sad day for the world's peoples.

I have been forever changed by the actions of one small 14 yr old Pakistani girl - shot in the head by people who would try to silence her and destroy her chances and the chances of so many young girls from having an education.

I am in awe of her love!! What an awesome, elegant, giving Spirit to be such an example for the world, and to be such a catalyst for change!! I have heard that the public outcry and the outpouring of love and concern for her are unprecidented in Pakistan. THIS has been the last straw for her countrymen and women. Without her example, perhaps the changes that will come as a result of her story may never have happened.

All of my love is with her and her family.

I was watching an American tv show (Anderson Live) and was taken aback by the incendental coverage of her attempted murder by the Taliban (I am reticent to even capitalize that word) and then to bring on a segment, right on its heels, about a purse that is made out of a hoola hoop.

I have to applaud Anderson for mentioning it - he did say that it did not get a lot of coverage in the US . . .it did in Canada, at least what I had listened to on CBC radio. It makes me wonder about the focus of his show this season . . .I certainly prefer his investigative CNN type projects.

I do not listen to news broadcasts for a reason, and this is one of them. Drama and sensationalism sells, and people want to know about Kenny Rogers' 5 marriages and what Anderson's co-host is wearing.

What does that say about our civilization? About our maturity?

As I worked today I listened to CBC radio and I have also been following the Lance Armstrong scandal.

Lance Armstrong is the reason that my husband and I got into road biking. We both saw him as a true hero. Not just an American hero, but a hero for anyone who wanted more from their life; anyone who had ever felt the triumph of overcoming adversity and sickness.

Am I disenchanted? Well, it is like this. I guess I am a bit, however, it did make me think about what a hero truly is and represents to me in my life.

Lance Armstrong is just a man. He is an athlete, for sure, and his popularity was achieved by many many hours in the very painful saddle of a road bike. He put in his time and paid his dues.

He is also a survivor. That cannot be taken away from him. He did what he needed to do to survive and has become an example for every cancer victim to see themselves as not a victim, but a triumphant survivor. To all of those dealing with this dis-ease, please, please do not let this speed bump in Lance's life make you question your belief in him. He has survived and will survive this as well. I am holding the vision that you will too, just like Lance.

I see it like this, an athlete (even a gifted one) is simply an athlete among many until something sets him or her apart. Once they get the notariety and begin to get publicity, the pressure on this one individual soul becomes overwhelming. It can change a person's goals and perspective, in the face of such expectations. I think this not only happened to Lance, but happens to athletes each and every day.

I am not trivializing what he has done. I understand and support the laws of this world and of the international athletic community . . .and he will be held accountable.

Please Lance, for all of those who believe in you for the man that you are, not the athlete that you were, if the allegations are not true, then please continue to deny them. It is not up to anyone to crucify you for something you did not do. No-one has that right. However, if they are true, be a man of integrity and own up to them.

All day long I have been contemplating what makes a hero in my estimation. Is it the national hero, an road warrior who makes headlines and makes his country proud? One of the only reasons that the Tour de France was broadcast in North America was because of Lance Armstrong. It has been held since 1903, and for decades we had the technology to have it come into our homes via television, but it did not until Lance began to win the Tour.

Or, is it Lance, the man, who faced his cancer with the spirit of that road warrior and hit the road . . .hard . . .and got up and got back on his bike?

Or is it the girl, who even in the face of grown men following her every move and threatening her with certain death, continued to pursue her highest ideals and be an example of what it truly means to stand in the face of adversity?

I have not faced the threat of death from cancer or from a bullet. I don't know how I would react.

Regardless of my experience, the example of these two people will always be my benchmark for courage.

We, as a global community, have much healing to do. Each wound suffered by a brother or sister is our wound. I believe that we present to ourselves those experiences with which we can feel and heal the deep dis-ease that we as a community have come into this life to overcome. I also believe that only actions in line with Love will truly change things.

So with only a loving intention in our minds, how can we approach this? What does our Creator prompt us to do?

If we allow an abuser to go on abusing, what does that say about us?

Do we believe in and support a system that brings to account the integrity of its citizens, especially, most especially, when it is a path of their own choosing?

How large is our circle of influence? Whose lives can we touch with our compassion and loving intention?

Who are your heroes?