This is going to be the last in the series of lessons I’ve learned from superheroes. We started with a story about finding and reaching the finish line with Batman and The Flash. Then, we talked about how we need to overcome our fear like Green Lantern in order to reach our goals. We also talked about embracing all sides of ourselves (Wonder Woman) and embracing all sides of our teams (X-men). We’ve talked about Iron Man and understanding that we can’t be everything to everyone. Last week we thought about how we can learn to view the world differently from a blind superhero named Daredevil. This week we’ll wrap everything up in webs and end this series with wisdom from Spider-man.
If you have ever heard of Spider-man you have probably heard the quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The short version of the story is that Peter Parker had been granted amazing powers after a being bitten by a radioactive spider. There was a bad guy that he could have stopped with his powers, but he chose not to. That bad guy then ended up killing his Uncle Ben. From that point on Peter Parker became Spider-man and set out to use his powers for good, because he realized it was his responsibility to do so.
So what does this have to do with our work? We all have great power. The power could come in the form of authority, influence, and/or the strengths that we can share. We started this series by talking about reaching a finish line, and I firmly believe it is all of our responsibilities to use the powers we have to help our teammates cross that finish line. Someone once asked me why I blog and perform poetry at Lilly. It’s because those are the superpowers I was born with. If I had been born with tremendous intellect or other skills I would be using those to help others, but I don’t have those things. Instead, I tell stories and share poems. These were the superpowers I was born with, but they aren’t “mine”. They are a blessing on loan. If I can use my words to make a difference, if I can write something that inspires people to think differently, if I can do anything to bring people together, if I can find a way to give people a little boost when they need it, then it’s my responsibility to do so.
The Challenge: What are you doing with your superpowers?
Have a jolly good day,
Andrew Embry
Striking Matches 