I’ve mentioned before we are a Marvel family and we finally watched Guardians of the Galaxy 3 the other night.  The level of depth in these stories never ceases to amaze me.  It may look like a super hero movie on the surface, but they’re really about recognizing the power in each of us.  Yes, there are the typical super-hero archetypes filled with tragedy and triumph, the sometimes cliché concept of good versus evil, and the predictable rise and fall of the protagonist as they almost fail and come back.  In spite of all of that, the way these stories cut to the core of who we are goes beyond the “standard” super hero.  It becomes about creation and self-discovery as well as the loss of who we thought we were and having to rebuild that.  There’s the underlying concept of family being what we make it and the very real need for connection—as well as the idea that connection can be found in the least expected of places.  Finally there’s the idea that we don’t always know who people really are and their character reveals itself when we least expect it—you never know what someone went through to get where they are. 

No, I’m truly not plugging Marvel, but the ideas of self-discovery and sticking with our word and  facing challenges we didn’t think we would survive is right in line with what we’ve talked about the last few weeks.  For this story in particular, the message ultimately is that we are meant to step into who we are—and  that where we come from doesn’t have to be an indicator of who we are or where we’re going.  In this story, we learn that nothing lasts forever, we are meant to evolve.  Everything has a season and a reason and we are meant to flow with it.  Growth and change can be scary and painful, but staying the same when we have become something else is even more painful.  It’s ok to evolve and become aligned with who we are in this moment—we are meant to do just that.  Knowing who we are and being that version of ourselves is more important than being who others think we are.  There’s a little bit of everything inside of us: a warrior, a thief, a hero, a villain, a genius, a teacher, a saint.  We aren’t one thing, we are all things.

While we may not be super-heroes, I don’t know one person who can’t relate to these concepts.  Even the idea of building confidence by trying scary things, the idea of sticking with our word, the idea of follow through no matter how scary—that’s all demonstrated in these movies.  It’s easy to see where people get caught up in them.  There is something inherently relatable in all of it that has nothing to do with power.  No, we relate to the human elements more than the super-hero yet we see we have the capacity to be great, each and every one of us.  The work of self-discovery and the commitment to becoming all that we are is by no means an easy feat.  It’s a daily reminder that we have to choose who we are—and who we will be–and stay the course.  It’s putting away distraction and dealing with what’s right in front of us even if we don’t want to (or think we can’t).  The point is we can determine which way the story goes.  We can choose growth or comfort but we can’t have both—but we can be comfortable with the growth.  No matter how scary it gets, choose our path.  Choose who we are meant to be.  There’s a little superhero in all of us buried in that humanity.  It’s a beautiful thing.