Superheroes
I found the quote...lol...I love this quote...this is where I am in my life right now.
It's from Kill Bill Volume 2. It's the conversation between the infamous Bill and Beatrix Kiddo (a.k.a. "The Bride").
It's the Superhero Monologue/Conversation...
Bill: As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique. Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sorta like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plimpton.
The Bride: Aso. The point Emerges.
Bill: You would've worn the costume of Arlene Plimpton. But you were born Beatrix Kiddo. And every morning when you woke up, you'd still be Beatrix Kiddo. Oh, you can take the needle out.
The Bride: Are you calling me a superhero?
Bill: I'm calling you a killer. A natural born killer. You always have been, and you always will be. Moving to El Paso, working in a used record store, goin' to the movies with Tommy, clipping coupons. That's you, trying to disguise yourself as a worker bee That's you tryin' to blend in with the hive. But you're not a worker bee. You're a renegade killer bee. And no matter how much beer you drank or barbecue you ate or how fat your ass got, nothing in the world would ever change that.
I was sitting a couple of weeks ago with a couple of PhD's from UNLV who are trying to put together a podcast. I sat there giving information and they sat there enthralled. It was kinda cool. We talked a bit and then something dawned on me...
First the backstory, then the point.
I'm married to a juggernaut of a man. He's shaping the way kids learn about sustainable living and environmentalism for the next 50-some-odd-years. He shapes how people view how to live sustainably. Let's go further with the actual truth here, he's influencing how a city of over 2 million people is going to survive in the desert over the next 100 years. OK, let's go further than that, he's got 4 degrees, knows 20 different martial arts, 3 time blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do, he runs marathons for fun...the man is just larger than life.
A lot of people tell me that I'm larger than life, and for the longest time, I never believed that, it's my husband that's the one who was always larger than life. Not me, I believed that I lived in his shadow because he's just that big.
Now, let's get back to the lunch with the PhD's from UNLV. Ok, there I am sitting there, opening the floodgates of knowledge I have about podcasting, marketing, etc, etc, etc, and I realized...well, if that 6 foot 4 inch, larger than life juggernaut married me, he wouldn't have done it if I were stupid or less than him, he would have only chosen his equal to spend the rest of his life with.
It was like a lightbulb went off over my head. There I was in this sea of believing myself mediocre and such, when the truth really is that I'm just as larger than life as he is.
It made things come into focus a bit when I realized that. I'm always one to think less of myself when really, well, I'm like Beatrix Kiddo, when I wake up in the morning, I try desperately to be like Clark Kent, to put on the disguise and be happy being mediocre, when all the time, underneath it all, is a superhero waiting for their moment to do what it is within their powers to do.
It was like that in school when I was growing up. Ahead of everyone by miles, but so desperate to fit in, I didn't take the time to understand that I had my "superpowers" to comfort me. I didn't realize that what I had was so innately special and truly unique that I settled for being mediocre, failing classes on purpose and doing all sorts of whathaveyou just so I could fit in, which ultimately scarred me permanently and I still carry the scars to this day. Truth be told, as hard as I tried to fit in, I never ever did.
Now, let's fast forward a bit, ok I'm an adult now. We all grow up, it's an inevitable part of being a living, breathing human being...however, I had never really let go of the need to fit in, and I doubt anyone else does either, we all want acceptance and love, it's a fundamental human drive for EVERYONE. The question is, when do we realize that the only person that really does need to accept us is US? The person you look at in the mirror...YOU. You are the one who has to look in the mirror every day, just as I do. I'm the one who has to accept myself. My worth as a human being is not determined by others, it's determined by me.
So, as Bill said so eloquently above, some people have to put on their costume to become a 'superhero'. While others, like me, do not, we put on our alter-ego as a survival mechanism and as a mirror shining the inadequacies of the human race back at the people who view us so THEY feel comfortable enough to accept us as human beings.
I really don't know what's scarier really...the fact that I have to put on my alter-ego so people are comfortable around me, or that inside of me is so much untapped potential and innate power that I really don't know where it will go if I set it loose.
I love that song by Smash Mouth "Everyday Superhero"...
Here, have a listen
Every morning I wake up just the same
Another victim of ordinary fame
I don't see myself as invincible
It's not true at all
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
Just a day job that's someone's gotta do
It's kinda hard when everyone looks up to you
Try to make it look easy, gonna make it look good
Like anybody would
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just like everybody else
After all the hype it's hard to tell
I keep my game face on so well
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world
I try to hide my true identity
But no one knows it's only me
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I just love that song.
But the thing is...I don't think that much of myself...as I've illustrated. I think it's good to have humility when it's so readily apparent that well, I'm different. That difference is a good thing.
Cool part, I don't have to hide in my husband's shadow anymore. That was a self-imposed prison that I created for myself.
That people can't keep up...well, that's natural. You can't ask Joe Schmoe to leap tall buildings like Superman, can you? No, not really, it's not within poor Joe's abilities. If you asked poor Joe to try to keep up with Kal-El, well, since they don't have the same abilities, you can't ask Joe to keep up with honest expectations. Joe's gonna get dusted. It's just a fact. Joe's never gonna be Superman, he just wasn't born that way.
The thing is though, when you're standing in Superman's red boots, you remember that poor Joe can't keep up and you try to help him keep in the game, but you remember that he's just limited in his abilities, after all, he's just human.
When you're standing Joe's running shoes, you remember that Joe has done his best, well, Joe should be proud, he held his own against Superman and can look in the mirror and know he did the best he could, no harm, no foul.
That there are such strong differences in abilities shouldn't be infringed upon by petty emotions like jealousy. I mean, look at Lex Luthor...he lives in envy of Superman every day and he hates Superman's guts because Lex can't do what Superman does. That's what makes him our villain, but think about it, if Lex would have just shut the hell up and just accepted everything at face value and said, "That's cool what you can do Kal-El, right on, good for you." Well, all the Kryptonite in the world couldn't have make a softer dent in Superman's heart.
It's acceptance. Pure and simple. Even though I am an average, ordinary, everyday Superhero, I'll never find the acceptance for who I am inside from the people around me. It just won't happen. Greed, jealousy, maliciousness, and all of the other 7 deadlies will stick their head up and make sure I never get it from someone else (except my husband of course, he's a Superhero in his own right so he understands).
I know a few things...like Edna Mode said in "The Incredibles" - "NO CAPES". LOL. And besides, no one needs to know I'm a Superhero...they can look at my "Clark Kent" alter-ego/disguise and be comfortable with that.
After all, I know what's under the disguise. If someone has a problem with me being who I am, that's their baggage to carry, not mine. Besides, with who I am, I doubt they could carry it.
LOL.
It's from Kill Bill Volume 2. It's the conversation between the infamous Bill and Beatrix Kiddo (a.k.a. "The Bride").
It's the Superhero Monologue/Conversation...
Bill: As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique. Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sorta like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plimpton.
The Bride: Aso. The point Emerges.
Bill: You would've worn the costume of Arlene Plimpton. But you were born Beatrix Kiddo. And every morning when you woke up, you'd still be Beatrix Kiddo. Oh, you can take the needle out.
The Bride: Are you calling me a superhero?
Bill: I'm calling you a killer. A natural born killer. You always have been, and you always will be. Moving to El Paso, working in a used record store, goin' to the movies with Tommy, clipping coupons. That's you, trying to disguise yourself as a worker bee That's you tryin' to blend in with the hive. But you're not a worker bee. You're a renegade killer bee. And no matter how much beer you drank or barbecue you ate or how fat your ass got, nothing in the world would ever change that.
I was sitting a couple of weeks ago with a couple of PhD's from UNLV who are trying to put together a podcast. I sat there giving information and they sat there enthralled. It was kinda cool. We talked a bit and then something dawned on me...
First the backstory, then the point.
I'm married to a juggernaut of a man. He's shaping the way kids learn about sustainable living and environmentalism for the next 50-some-odd-years. He shapes how people view how to live sustainably. Let's go further with the actual truth here, he's influencing how a city of over 2 million people is going to survive in the desert over the next 100 years. OK, let's go further than that, he's got 4 degrees, knows 20 different martial arts, 3 time blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do, he runs marathons for fun...the man is just larger than life.
A lot of people tell me that I'm larger than life, and for the longest time, I never believed that, it's my husband that's the one who was always larger than life. Not me, I believed that I lived in his shadow because he's just that big.
Now, let's get back to the lunch with the PhD's from UNLV. Ok, there I am sitting there, opening the floodgates of knowledge I have about podcasting, marketing, etc, etc, etc, and I realized...well, if that 6 foot 4 inch, larger than life juggernaut married me, he wouldn't have done it if I were stupid or less than him, he would have only chosen his equal to spend the rest of his life with.
It was like a lightbulb went off over my head. There I was in this sea of believing myself mediocre and such, when the truth really is that I'm just as larger than life as he is.
It made things come into focus a bit when I realized that. I'm always one to think less of myself when really, well, I'm like Beatrix Kiddo, when I wake up in the morning, I try desperately to be like Clark Kent, to put on the disguise and be happy being mediocre, when all the time, underneath it all, is a superhero waiting for their moment to do what it is within their powers to do.
It was like that in school when I was growing up. Ahead of everyone by miles, but so desperate to fit in, I didn't take the time to understand that I had my "superpowers" to comfort me. I didn't realize that what I had was so innately special and truly unique that I settled for being mediocre, failing classes on purpose and doing all sorts of whathaveyou just so I could fit in, which ultimately scarred me permanently and I still carry the scars to this day. Truth be told, as hard as I tried to fit in, I never ever did.
Now, let's fast forward a bit, ok I'm an adult now. We all grow up, it's an inevitable part of being a living, breathing human being...however, I had never really let go of the need to fit in, and I doubt anyone else does either, we all want acceptance and love, it's a fundamental human drive for EVERYONE. The question is, when do we realize that the only person that really does need to accept us is US? The person you look at in the mirror...YOU. You are the one who has to look in the mirror every day, just as I do. I'm the one who has to accept myself. My worth as a human being is not determined by others, it's determined by me.
So, as Bill said so eloquently above, some people have to put on their costume to become a 'superhero'. While others, like me, do not, we put on our alter-ego as a survival mechanism and as a mirror shining the inadequacies of the human race back at the people who view us so THEY feel comfortable enough to accept us as human beings.
I really don't know what's scarier really...the fact that I have to put on my alter-ego so people are comfortable around me, or that inside of me is so much untapped potential and innate power that I really don't know where it will go if I set it loose.
I love that song by Smash Mouth "Everyday Superhero"...
Here, have a listen
Every morning I wake up just the same
Another victim of ordinary fame
I don't see myself as invincible
It's not true at all
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
Just a day job that's someone's gotta do
It's kinda hard when everyone looks up to you
Try to make it look easy, gonna make it look good
Like anybody would
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just like everybody else
After all the hype it's hard to tell
I keep my game face on so well
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world
I try to hide my true identity
But no one knows it's only me
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero
I just love that song.
But the thing is...I don't think that much of myself...as I've illustrated. I think it's good to have humility when it's so readily apparent that well, I'm different. That difference is a good thing.
Cool part, I don't have to hide in my husband's shadow anymore. That was a self-imposed prison that I created for myself.
That people can't keep up...well, that's natural. You can't ask Joe Schmoe to leap tall buildings like Superman, can you? No, not really, it's not within poor Joe's abilities. If you asked poor Joe to try to keep up with Kal-El, well, since they don't have the same abilities, you can't ask Joe to keep up with honest expectations. Joe's gonna get dusted. It's just a fact. Joe's never gonna be Superman, he just wasn't born that way.
The thing is though, when you're standing in Superman's red boots, you remember that poor Joe can't keep up and you try to help him keep in the game, but you remember that he's just limited in his abilities, after all, he's just human.
When you're standing Joe's running shoes, you remember that Joe has done his best, well, Joe should be proud, he held his own against Superman and can look in the mirror and know he did the best he could, no harm, no foul.
That there are such strong differences in abilities shouldn't be infringed upon by petty emotions like jealousy. I mean, look at Lex Luthor...he lives in envy of Superman every day and he hates Superman's guts because Lex can't do what Superman does. That's what makes him our villain, but think about it, if Lex would have just shut the hell up and just accepted everything at face value and said, "That's cool what you can do Kal-El, right on, good for you." Well, all the Kryptonite in the world couldn't have make a softer dent in Superman's heart.
It's acceptance. Pure and simple. Even though I am an average, ordinary, everyday Superhero, I'll never find the acceptance for who I am inside from the people around me. It just won't happen. Greed, jealousy, maliciousness, and all of the other 7 deadlies will stick their head up and make sure I never get it from someone else (except my husband of course, he's a Superhero in his own right so he understands).
I know a few things...like Edna Mode said in "The Incredibles" - "NO CAPES". LOL. And besides, no one needs to know I'm a Superhero...they can look at my "Clark Kent" alter-ego/disguise and be comfortable with that.
After all, I know what's under the disguise. If someone has a problem with me being who I am, that's their baggage to carry, not mine. Besides, with who I am, I doubt they could carry it.
LOL.
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