To be the hero to the messages of our soul, push forward against sometimes insurmountable odds and keep dreaming that impossible dream no matter what risk or cost to ourselves?

I am honored to know a man who has recently moved forward through insurmountable odds while keeping his dream alive. His name is Ken Colbung, an aboriginal elder of the Noongah tribe in Western Australia.

I have mentioned him before and his quest to retrieve the bones of his ancestors from an incorrect unceremonial entombment in north England.

Since I shared his ‘mission of permission’ a few months back, Ken has returned to Australia, flown back to England within the week, and returned again to Australia - on the latter journey cradling the bones of his ancestor, saddened by the actions of the British bureaucracy, yet honored to be carrying them home to their place of eternal rest. For after three months in the UK spent discussing and debating whether he could ceremonially release the bones, Ken was told this was not about to happen and probably never would and he should return to Australia. Within days of his return however the authorities in Britain exhumed his relatives bones - unceremoniously - and he was then contacted to say he should arrive back in England to pick them up.

As he returned to England to recover the bones, Princess Diana died in Paris. An aboriginal elder in Australia marked the significance of Diana’s death in relation to the exhumation of the bones and the prophecies of Aboriginal cultures. As a result Ken returned to Australia to find the head cut off the statue of his ancestor in retaliation for the story about the connection with Diana. His ancestor was after all "a blaggard and scoundrel. . . . Who murdered white people without thinking twice about what he was doing."

As a result of the three journeys he had to undertake and the high fees he had to pay, Ken is now financially bankrupt. His home and possessions have been seized by the creditors, and his reputation within the white man’s political arena is in tatters, and yet he smiles for he is happy. He knows that when his time comes to be laid to rest he has achieved his quest. At least this part of his mission in life is complete.

He also recognises that he is not alone in this quest, both within his culture and within the ancestry of the Americas, there are others who dream their dreams and reach for previously unreachable stars. Since his pilgrimage, the ancestors of Long Wolf, a Sioux Indian who died in Britain 121 years ago,have retrieved his bones. Their bureaucratic process lasted four years, not twelve, but now Long Wolf’s remains are buried, via a combined Christian and Indian ceremony, at the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee.

And so the quests continue and the dreams are dreamt. Our dreams whether small or large can keep us going through insurmountable odds. They can also mean we will risk all to follow through with what we believe in. In my experience, you Americans live openly with your dreams and since the immortalised words of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Americans have chased the dream, pursued the impossible and aimed for the insurmountable. But how many of us, anywhere in the world, can truly say we have strived at risk of great personal lossto bear with an unbearable sorrow, or stand where no man, woman or child has stood and walk proudly in the face of our beliefs.

Each culture has heroes and heroines; Those men, women, and children who have become icons of courage, stamina, compassion, wisdom,, strength, truth and victory. But what of those within our culture who are the quiet heroes/heroines who continue to walk the path of the untrodden, to lead us forward without mass recognition or respect, to reach those seemingly unattainable stars. Heroes that make a difference in our lives, and we don’t know it, or recognise it. Like a small pebble in the very big waterfall their presence or absence can make a mountain, a canyon, a river, a sandbed and yet we are unable to grasp the deeper significance of their action.

One of our greatest human needs is that of recognition. To be appreciated, seen, loved and respected for who we are. As in the passing of Diana it is often after a life is over that we choose to see the hero in another, to recognise their specialness, uniqueness and personal contribution. And yet we can see with Diana, and so many others, that the person who quietly without fanfare, makes a difference.