This is the final entry on lessons we can learn from cartoons.  We started with Pinky and The Brain and having the grit and determination to take over the world.  From there, we moved to Avatar and reflected on where we draw our strength from.  Then, we moved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thoughts about evolving with changing context.  After that we reflected on Inspector Gadget and lifting others up to be seen.  In our final entry, we will focus on Transformers and seeing beyond the surface. 

When I was a little kid (4 or 5), I loved Transformers. I was so obsessed with the cartoon that I called family members by Transformer’s names.  My grandma was Bumblebee and my aunt was Sideswipe.  During my aunt’s wedding I’ve been told that I yelled, “Hurry up Sideswipe, walk down here!” as she was walking down the aisle.  (And you thought I couldn’t get any nerdier or charming.  #alwaysreadytogotothenextnerdylevel)

Anyway, in case you aren’t familiar with Transformers it is about an alien race locked in a civil war.  There are the heroic Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the evil Decepticons led by Megatron.  These robotic aliens became known as Transformers, because they had the ability to transform from robot form to another form to blend in with their surroundings.  Most of the time, they took on the shape of some kind of vehicle, but sometimes they would change into other things like a radio, giant microscope, or even dinosaurs. 

So what do Transformers have to do with anything?  You might be aware of the fact that Transformers is often associated with the tagline “more than meets the eye”.  This is because of the fact that in this universe a person could see a car on the road, but maybe it wasn’t just a car.  Maybe it was a robot.  Maybe it was an Autobot.  Maybe it was a Decepticon.  There was always more to it than first glance, and you never quite knew what you would end up discovering.

This all reminds me of people.  We are all Transformers, meaning that often what you see on the surface isn’t the only thing there.  People are often “more than meets the eye”.  How many times in life have you looked at someone and said, “Yep, I know who exactly who and what they are,” and then later been surprised by how much additional depth was there?  I know it happens to me.  At first glance it’s easy to take in the first thing you see, but it requires patience, curiosity, and the willingness to learn about each other to see what might be below the surface.

The challenge: How often do you remember that people are “more than meets the eye”?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry