Let me just say right off the bat that I'm no superhero nor do I know any more about superheroes than what I was exposed to as a child and at the movies. But what I do know is this. Superheroes can only use the powers they possess. In a world where we have witnessed so many events that are beyond our control like 9/11, the numerous hate crimes, and yes, even who becomes our country's president, there's a silver lining to all of it. And that silver lining is what we can do today, within our own powers, as an individual, a community and eventually as a race, the human race.
I recently watched a Tony Robbins video on a seminar he was giving in Hawaii on the day 9/11 happened 15 years ago. I was so inspired by the camaraderie that this man was able to instill in a Muslim participant and a Jewish participant at his seminar on the day of a horrific tragedy that occurred out of hatred based on religion. You know, if you look up the word "camaraderie" its definition comes up as "mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together". The key here I believe is "trust" and "time together". When we judge others based on the little snippets of news we hear or see on TV, Facebook or any other form of media, we have begun to formulate our perception of that person or group of people. That perceived judgment does not cultivate camaraderie.
It amazes me how we can "judge" someone else based on their physical appearance whether telling their ethnicity or how they dress, based on what we see or hear on social media or even based on just one interaction with that someone that left us feeling less than somehow (i.e. offended), when we've never spent any significant amount of time with that person. Each of us are so complex, and at such different wellness levels on any given moment that it would be insane to label a person without spending the time together first.
So I urge you now, today, to first, get to know yourself, your authentic self. Recognize all the good that you represent, all of your strengths. Then I encourage you to instill the good and all the strengths in your loved ones. It's not going to happen overnight or maybe even in the next week or year, or even years. But we have to start. We have to work together as a family, as a community and as a human race. Because that is how we are going to fight evil.
Be the superhero that you are.