During a workshop on life’s big questions, we were invited to write down on a slip of paper what superpower we would like to have. The slips were put in a jar and passed around. Each person drew one out and then attempted to guess the author. Strangers tried to identify each other and revealed their own identities. After a brief conversation about what this ability meant to each of us, a temporary community came to life in an intimate and fragile space of souls. Written on one slip of paper was the superpower of being able to empathize with the thoughts and feelings of others. On another, it was the ability to teleport to someone 100 kilometers away that needs a hug right now. Another said “being able to fly” to gain the necessary overview. And another wanted “to be able to give comfort.”
Gradually, it dawned on us that some of these superpowers are not just “pipe dreams”—not just scenes from superhero movies in which humanity is saved. Rather, we ourselves can bring them to life within us; in fact, we are already doing so. Becoming aware of this was like taking the first necessary step toward self-empowerment—and was probably the greatest comfort of all.
Translation Laura Liska
Image Rolling Grocer. Photo: Colleen Trainor
