Superpower

Many kids think about how awesome it would be to have a superpower (what it would be / what they'd do with it). As a Migraineur, I often feel like I actually do have superpowers. I have super-senses - I can hear, smell, feel, taste, and see so much more than many others can. However, my hyper-sensitivity doesn't always seem like it's a superpower... it more often feels like a curse. But, on with the challenge for the day...

If I could choose any superpower, I'm not sure exactly which one I could choose... there are three that I think would be really great - to have one or all of.

• Teleporting - I think it would be amazing to be able to teleport! My husband and I had a long-distance relationship for 6.5 years during college, and we always talked about needing that ability. How liberating it would be for me to not have to worry about driving somewhere, being stranded somewhere because a migraine hit and I couldn't drive back, etc... I wouldn't have to take into consideration the time of day, the weather (the sun is really bad for me), the travel time, and so forth. I could be there more often for my family and friends because it'd be easy to teleport back to my own bed, in just a moment, when/if unbearable pain rears it's ugly head.
• Increased Energy - It would be great to not have to take so many rest breaks, cut tasks into a lot of mini-tasks, prepare so much for something as "simple" as a trip to the grocery store, etc... Think Energizer bunny - slow and steady, but can keep going and going and going. I wouldn't want an annoying amount of energy, but it would be great to have the energy to be able to do more.
• Comforting - While being able to comfort others may not be a superhuman power, it's also not something that everyone can or does. I've always tried to keep in mind that we should "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" (Plato). Kindness and comfort aren't the same, but they are often closely linked.

• Comfort: to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to; to aid, support, or encourage; console (to make grief or distress seem lighter, by means of kindness and thoughtful attentions); relieve (to lighten, lessen, or remove pain, trouble, discomfort, or hardship); soothe (to pacify or calm)

I've always tried to be a comforting presence for others. I think that the ability to comfort others is a huge gift and blessing. To be able to help lighten another person's load, to help another through a hardship, to help bring a sense of calm to someone's life... what could be better?!

Of course, every superhero has their "kryptonite," and the superpowers I listed are no different.

• Teleporting - Being able to teleport could easily reduce the already very limited physical activity that I do now... in other words, it could make me weaker and lazy.
• Increased Energy - Having increased energy can have pretty obvious results... burnout. I already try to do too much, so I know that I'd just raise the baseline of what I have the energy to do... and then I'd try to push beyond that limit - it could easily get out of hand.
• Comforting - Being a comforter is great, but you have to be able to take care of yourself, too. I feel like I'd spread myself too thin by taking care of everyone but myself (or at least take care of others much more than myself) - I say this because I've done it before.

Ultimately, though, I'm not sure that I'd really want to have a superpower. I don't know that I could deal with all of the added responsibility that I feel comes along with having a superpower. So, instead, I will choose to do my best to use the gifts that God has placed in me. I know that He places obstacles, trials, and adversity in my life, so that He can form / mold me into the person that He made me to be. I don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but I trust that God is in control.

This post was written as part of the Health Activist Writer's Awareness Challenge (HAWMC).