Sept. 27, 2017 Superpowers and Kryptonite
Welcome to my new blog.
I'm hoping to create a community of curious souls who seek to improve themselves, their lives and the lives of the people around them.
Today, I want to talk about our superpowers. Much as we would love to be like The Incredibles with amazing gifts, like flying or morphing into a convenient shape, so far, most of us are limited to the laws of physics in our own lives. BUT, we all have superpowers that we most likely take for granted; which makes sense, because we often don't know everyone can't do these things.
The first step in self-appreciation and maximizing our gifts is understanding what makes us unique.
What can you do that it seems like everyone else has trouble doing?
For years I was impatient with people who had what I called "Refrigerator Blindness." I even attributed it to a gender-linked disability (we won't say which gender.) This was when someone went to the fridge and said "there is no _________." But, I knew there was, and at one glance I would pull it out and give it to the person. I was always tempted to say, "Look harder!" This was true of messy drawers, stuffed closets, jumbled suitcases and racks of pretty much anything. I could look at it briefly, scan it really, and find whatever I needed instantly, or know that it wasn't there. After years of being told it was a special skill, I realized it was one of my superpowers, and suddenly I could be patient with the rest of the world for not being able to match that gift. What that meant was that certain things that are difficult for others are easy for me.
When I think about each of us having our own superpower, it always reminds me of a wonderful Sesame Street three- minute video in which a little boy and Yitzhak Perelman, the virtuoso violinist, are on a stage playing the violin. The boy slowly plays a piece, and then Perelman easily plays his beautifully. The boy jumps up and bounces down the three steps to the floor. Perelman gets his crutches and with great difficultly, stands up; then he painstakingly works his way down the three steps. He then turns to the boy and says, "Some things are easy for me and hard for you, other things are hard for me and easy for you." That's all he says. It brought me to tears to think how simple it is to understand that people can be appreciated and loved for their own unique superpower, and accepted even when they have a challenge. Virginia Satir said, "We connect in our similarity, and grow in our differences."
What is your superpower? You probably have many. Are you patient with those who don't have that ability?
It is never a waste to treat others' with patience, love and kindness. They might just pass it along and the results could change the world for someone.