One summer during my childhood, I found myself on a playground with other children that I did not know at a school that I did not go to. My mother had taken up a job teaching at a local school, and rather than paying for a babysitter, dumping us off at friend’s houses, or enrolling us in expensive summer camps, she did what any mother who wanted to maintain oversight of her children would. She enrolled us in the summer school she was working at.
During recess, I happened to be sitting on the jungle gym next to some classmates while one larger kid was dealing out super powers to his crew. I was small, skinny, and had huge glasses. I had gotten used to being invisible and grew comfortable watching people in silence. I watched the attributes of each person become their designated super power by their leader. I must have been watching pretty closely as the leader made eye contact with me.
“Hey, you want to play?
I shrugged.
“Do you have a superpower?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“You look fast. How about super speed? But you’ll need a name. Hoooow abooout Swift Wind?”
I thought that actually sounded pretty cool. Swift. Wind. Woosh! I felt like I could handle it.
“OK.”
(No, I did not know this was the name of She-Ra’s winged unicorn at the time.)
The combination of becoming involved, being accepted by a new group, and acknowledged for my super power was intoxicating. I felt empowered. We tore up the entire lot, ripping around other children playing kickball and the monkey bars. Like commandos running through the forest in some form of battle parkour, we continued to play this way for weeks. We created imaginary problems and villains that required teamwork to defeat.
We made sure everyone got a chance to shine.
When we are asked to identify what makes us special, or even better, are told what makes us special to someone, sometimes we put up a compliment defense. We find ways to diminish the positive outlook others have on us and how we view ourselves. “Oh, it’s nothing.” “The shirt was on sale.” “I just tweaked a recipe I found online.” “I would do that for anyone.” How many of us have used similar responses when someone compliments us? Slowly the negative story we tell ourselves becomes more solid and solid, reinforcing our subconscious and the behaviors that follow suit. I catch myself doing it all the time and am reminded to accept it with my entire being and just say “thank you.”
In the final scene of the movie, Dumb and Dumber, characters Lloyd and Harry are walking down a deserted road when a bus full of Hawaiian Tropic swimsuit models pulls over expressing their need for two oil boys. The scene ends with the two redirecting the bus to a town, Harry and Lloyd wishing the best for the two future oil boys, and that fortune will come their way if they just “keep their eyes open.” Aside from being one of the greatest comedies ever written and performed, this movie is riddled with life lessons.
Opportunities are everywhere, whizzing past us, above us, through us. We just have to keep our eyes open. Like putting on a pair of opportunity glasses, when practiced often, we can also turn otherwise benign scenarios into opportunistic ones. In a previous post, sometimes it simply involves saying “Hi” to a stranger, asking the right questions, or even just being in the right place and putting yourself out there.
But the first step to any motion is motivation. Before we can go after what we want, we must be clear that we deserve it. We can practice by considering the sentences below:
You are worthy of joy.
You are worthy of love.
You are worthy of wealth.
You are worthy of success.
You are worthy of pleasure.
You are worthy of being yourself.
While opening yourself up to receive and accept these things, you might realize that everything you may have wanted you already have in some form. You just didn't have the right perspective to see it.
What are your superpowers and how can you share them with the world?
Fuck yeah, it’s Friday!
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