"Darkness. The truest darkness is not the absence of light. It's the conviction that the light will never return. But the light always returns. To show us things familiar. Home, family, and things entirely new, or long overlooked. It shows us new possibilities and challenges us to pursue them."
- Lois Lane, Justice League
***
Not bad, eh?
Quoting DC comics.
How about the fact that I know Lois Lane is DC comics, and not Marvel?
Oh my God.... what has happened to me?
For someone without a television, I have watched 38 movies since Easter.
Okay, that's not the total truth.
I'm actually not even sure how many movies I have watched, but I'm certain iTunes knows.
I watched all the Star Wars movies, (that hardcore fans will be mortified I watched in chronological order and not release order), plus the bonus extra ones, all the DC movies, a few randoms like the Princess Bride (in hindsight, not a huge fan) and the Notebook (I needed a good cry and a l'il Ryan Gosling) and I'm pret' near done the entire Marvel collection. (Save Captain America, who I dislike. Sorry Marvel - but what exactly were you thinking?!)
I am now a walking quotation from any one of the above as you will see by the Princess Leia quote at the end of this post.... and perhaps a few others.
(ACTUALLY, it's not even Princess Leia. It's GENERAL - that is how much I am into Sci-Fi and Superheroes. I know the characters changed name references. Unbelievable.)
Oh, and Avatar.
I mean, wasn't that brilliant?
(It's feelin' a little higher than 38.)
I am an ADDICT.
In typical Sarah fashion, not only did I watch the movies, I took notes on all the themes of good and evil, light and dark, and all the quotes I could get my hands on.
Like Deadpool.
(You have no idea how much it concerns me that there is anything in Deadpool I could actually quote....)
But there is!
One tiny, little part at the wee end of the movie gave me Superhero-hope.
"There are 4 or 5 defining moments. That's all it takes to be a hero. Everyone thinks it's a fulltime job but there are only 4 or 5 moments that matter. Moments when you are offered a choice. To make a sacrifice, conquer a flaw, save a friend or spare an enemy. In these moments, everything else falls away."
I won't tell you how it derails from there.
The point is, even Deadpool, a.k.a. Marvel meets Quintin Tarantino, had a Superhero moment.
And if you only need 4 or 5, I'm gonna order a cape.
***
It's been a quiet Winter.
The New Age genre would call it "Awakening."
The Self Help junkies would call it "Healing."
I would call it "Re-Programming."
How can I stop one more word from falling out of my mouth that is self sabotaging, depreciating, people pleasing or worrying.
I still slip.
But there is progress.
I can see and feel the shift taking place.
My physical strength has toughened me from the inside out, my meditation practice is rock solid, I can handle feedback without wanting to crawl into a hole and die, and I have journaled every day for over 365 days. (I call this "data and research" for an undetermined future project.)
I have nothing left to work through, no more habits left to change (although a couple are in progress) and I am so highly in tune with my energy levels and intuition, I can feel what lifts me and dims me in a nano-second.
***
I had the most fascinating moment a few weeks ago.
I was sitting in my fancy leather reading chair, feet up on a bean bag ottoman, re-reading my journals from 2020 when this whole pandemic began.
The Christmas lights in the Village Square had just been replaced with patio umbrellas, the trees now in full Spring bloom and the birds were chirping away.
As I looked up from my journal and drifted off into space at how very much changed in the last 12 months, the church bells started to ring outside.
I don't think I'd ever heard them quite this way before.
All of a sudden, as clear as day and as loud as a megaphone, came the sound of Halleluiah being played by a saxophone outside my window.
(No, Richard Gere was not also present, holding out roses through a sunroof.)
I looked outside and there were multiple residents of the building behind me who stood on their balconies, leaning over and listening to the sound of music coming the Village Square below.
It was like the whole downtown core had this split-second, shared moment together.
The entire event was so overwhelming, I had goosebumps all they way down my arms.
Time has passed.
The Winter darkness has been replaced with lighter days and fresh air and there is a renewed sense of hope lingering in the air as the plan for reopening has finally been released.
As I scroll through social media, I notice all the selfies with vaccine papers and I feel confident that Spring next year looks different than this one.
***
I open up a blank Powerpoint template and set a timer for 60 minutes.
Focus for 60 minutes and then take a 10 minute break.
(Love this strategy from Robin Sharma's 5am Club book.)
I start to build the shell of a program I'm hoping to pilot real soon.
I've spent about 13 hours this week on coming up with a theme and name and somehow, right at this very second, it has come to me.
Superhero Kool-Aid.
I think I'm liking this.
Superhero Kool-Aid.
Yes.
- Where are you now? Where do you want to be?
- What is your belief system?
- What lessons can we learn from Superheroes?
- What is important to you?
- What guides your decisions?
- What holds you back?
- What have you failed to notice?
- Why do you need to rest?
- How do you rise to match the vision you have created?
