"Mummy, I Want to be a Superhero when I Grow Up"...

Listen to the Mustn'ts

Listen to the Mustn'ts child,

Listen to the Don'ts

Listen to the Shouldn'ts

The Impossibles, the Won'ts

Listen to the Never Haves

Then Listen to Me

Anything can happen, child,

Anything can be.

- Shel Silverstein

That's what little Miss Phil said to me this afternoon (about being a superhero that is). How could I tell her otherwise. She can be whom ever she wants to be, and this is not the time to be telling her she can't be a superhero. Anyway...I don't want to tell her and spoil her fun.

Today she wants to be a super hero. Yesterday she wanted to be the Avatar. The week before that she wanted to be a princess. Today we watched Mulan, and there she was again shouting "HI-YAH!" and doing a pretty good side kick and punch, that any mother with a martial arts background would be proud of. Considering I've never shown her any moves, and won't until she's in primary school, I was secretly chuffed.

And just to set the record straight, we have explained to Phil that she can only kick and punch as make-believe (at this stage), and it's never to be used to intentionally to hurt anyone. Though I have to admit, I'll be showing her how to defend herself when the time comes, as it's alarming what is going on with bullying at schools these days. Mind you, I'm hopeful that by helping her develop her confidence, as well as tolerance and respect of others, that this in itself will do much to prevent being the recipient of a bully or otherwise. Our body language is also very important in the prevention of becoming a victim. Often, it's messages that we send out to others - ones of being a victim which can attract would-be bullies or attackers, and the more confidence (as opposed to arrogance) you have, the less likely someone will choose you as their victim.

Anyway...got off on a tangent there.

Oh...yes...that's it...Superheroes!

I just love the sincerity of children's imaginations. They dream big and they dream bold.
They hold nothing back, and nothing is impossible. When did we lose this ability to dream big and bold? And it's not just about dreaming big, it's also about BELIEVING!

But you know...I think there's actually quite alot of us who still dream we are superheroes (like me), but some of us are just too plain chicken to admit that we do, because we're supposed to be grown-ups. Yep...I still dream about being a superhero when I grow up. It's sooooo much fun! If you haven't tried it...I dare you...go on...just try imagining being whomever or whatever you want to be. So I suppose what I'm saying is that for me, the word superhero is being someone or something whom or which you've always aspired to be, regardless of how ludicrous the reality might be.

For me, listening to my music is my gateway to Superhero-dom. I can go there anytime and be whom ever I want to be. I can do 30 muscle-ups in a single (crossfit WOD) bound - run 2.4km's in under 10min's - do 50 push-ups without a break - do a jumping, spinning side-kick, flying through the air in spectacular fashion - AND....do it all while looking RIPPED, SLEEK AND SEXY! Hee..hee..hee...

The thing is, there's always someone who is better, stronger, fitter, faster, better looking than you. But that doesn't have to stop you from aspiring to be the best you, that you can be, even if that means dreaming about something that is way out there.

You see...you may never reach the pinnacle of whatever it is that you imagine or dream about, but if you genuinely put in the ACTIONS, consistently and with persistence, then each day you can be better than you were yesterday. And tomorrow, when you look back, you'll be amazed at how far you've come and how much your life has been enriched along the way.

*P.S. Thanks to Andrew for the wonderful poem at the start of today's post. I discovered it amongst his thought-provoking blog posts. This one's a keeper, and I can't wait to be able to read this to Philomena.