You Are a Superhero

Several years ago, I attended a dinner party in Washington, DC where there was a lively discussion about whatever political crisis was happening then, perhaps the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal or maybe it was the Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Iraq War. Whatever it was, the volume got louder while I sat mutely wondering how to insert myself. And then our hostess leaned into me and said, “Can you believe what happened in Rex Morgan today?” making me laugh, landing me back on terra firma. For those of you unfortunate enough not to know, Rex Morgan, MD is a long-running soap opera comic strip.

It’s rare this year to be at many dinner parties. Nor do I suppose Rex Morgan, MD could come to my rescue during this time of colossal crises. But when things are as they are—so outsized and incredulous as to be nearly unbelievable—it’s hard for me not to think in mythological, archetypal fairy tale or comic book terms. Dark versus light, good versus evil, real live superheroes gone to the heavens (thank you, Ruth Bader Ginsburg), and not only towns but whole countries in need of dragon slayers to staunch the offering of souls while the Earth beneath us literally burns, quakes and floods. 

What is the meaning of all of this playing out at once—narcissistic leaders, a global pandemic, environmental destruction, racial and gender injustice, economic instability and more? What is the historical, spiritual, cosmic, psychic significance? Oh, it’s been brewing… Are we having a reckoning with karmic justice? 

Part of what is driving a roiling macro anxiety is there are no clear answers, we know we have a long way to go, and also the realization that our sense of control is an illusion. We can strive to respond from our best hearts; that much we can control. And some days our best hearts will be better than others, and that is okay.

We are still allowed to laugh, encouraged to wherever we can find that elixir. And Mother Nature, who has been so unutterably abused by us, still manages to teach us resilience and feed us soul food with her beauty. Woods, here I come. Rex Morgan, MD, perhaps you are worth another look. Friends, family and colleagues who share laughter and fuel hope when mine is waning, call, text, Zoom, social distance with me. Be a superhero when you can. Let me be yours.