This past weekend I was on staff at Stan Lee’s LA ComicCon. I should admit something. It has been about 35 years since I read a comic book. I honestly can’t remember the last time I turned on my television. I am not much of a geek myself, but a lot of my friends are. I love the creativity and costuming at Comic-Con! Even if one isn’t a comic geek, it would be hard not to be impressed with some of the craft work, and creativity that goes into some of the costumes.   Surrounded by people in superhero costumes, I went about my responsibilities as I wondered what these peoples super powers are when they take off the costumes of the characters they were emulating.

We all have super powers. Some of us are aware that we have them and some of those people know what theirs are. Some of those people use their super powers to make the world a better place. What I am frequently amazed by is the number of people who don’t realize that they have superhero in them. There seems to be this acceptance of powerlessness among many people that I come in contact with. Mind you most of these people are not folks I see daily or even once a week. At best these folks are casual acquaintances. There are a lot of folks that I meet casually that are very aware of the fact that they carry super powers within. Most of my close friends are among those that use their super powers in daily life. Of course I don’t mean that you will see my friends scaling the side of a building, or moving at lightning speed to derail a villain without a smudge on their cape or a run in their tights no matter how heated the battle.  As a matter of fact, most often the super heroes in my life wear everyday clothing. They change the world in office wear and in casual wear. Some DO have capes, many wear a uniform of some kind. A few have theme songs and fanfare, but most move quietly among us, changing the world as Truth Speakers, Justice Seekers, Wisdom Keepers, Teachers, and Healers of one kind or another. Sometimes our super power is obvious to us, sometimes more elusive. A super power is more than a vocation or a skill. Although it is sometimes that, more often it is a thing that we do, perhaps unconsciously at first. Initially we may not be skilled super heroes, but with mindfulness and willingness we can learn to identify, strengthen and hone our super powers. The first thing to note is  that the powers in and of themselves are only so powerful. They become super powers when they are used to support truth, respect and compassion. The Truth Speakers are only effective when they speak the truth so that others can hear. Otherwise they are average Janes and Joes plodding along, wondering what the point of life is.  I mentioned that mindfulness is key to honing your super power. Perhaps you are unsure of your particular power or powers. Start with mindfulness. In your morning mediation or prayer practice, ask for guidance to identifying your super powers, then take note of situations that arise that require you to use the same skill/gift despite the situations possibly being different. You may have noticed that you are feeling discontent with the direction of your life, as if there is something you are supposed to be doing that you aren’t. Often we have those feelings, and can even identify the thing we are supposed to be doing, but when the time comes to put idea into action, we stall, convincing ourselves that this is unreasonable for one reason or another. Perhaps your superpower is more subtle as they sometimes are. Perhaps our powers are more easily identified when we behave in a way that is counter to the purpose of our superpower. We may begin to be aware that we are behaving in a way that doesn’t support truth, respect and compassion, and the awareness will likely make us uncomfortable. My super power is that I can exhale peace. In every situation, with every breath I take, I can infuse peace into any situation (that it is safe for me to stay in).  Without making a decision to activate my super power, my breath is just the inhaling and exhaling of chemical components in gas form. It is when I make the decision to infuse my breath with Divine Peace that my breath becomes my super power. With the exhalation of peace infused breath my conflicts become peaceful discussions and my defensiveness becomes compassion.

Having established that we are all super heroes, I am curious. What is your super power, and how do you use it to support truth, respect and compassion? Leave a comment telling me what your superpower is and if you like, how you are using it to improve the world.