Super Powers

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My grandson and I went to see The Incredibles 2 this weekend and  ever since I’ve been thinking a lot about super powers! Stopping a runaway train or steering an out of control cruise ship to keep it from crashing into a port city, is child’s play compared to what so many of us have to handle every day.

Our imagination runs away with us. Our to-do list seems out of control. Pain, grief and confusion may overwhelm us to the point that getting out of bed in the morning can be considered an act of heroism. When we don’t think life is fair or easy, when we choose to search for meaning in hard circumstances and let them open rather than harden our hearts, we are using our own super powers.

It takes special super powers to be kind to ourselves when we make a mistake, to be kinder to ourselves when we make a bigger mistake and to be hugely kind to ourselves when we make one of those hugely, ugly and embarrassing mistakes.

It takes super powers to trust that we will recover and learn from them that maybe they aren’t mistakes at all.

Kindness. Trust. Choice. These are just three of the many simple words that have the power to change our lives and with their ripple effects. They have the power to impact the lives of the people around us.

Interestingly, these powers only work when we are not wearing a special outfit our hiding behind a mask. They only work when we show up as ourselves. And, on the days we aren’t able to access these powers (and we all have those days), we must simply do the best we can.