Someone once said, ‘if you tell the truth you never have to remember what you said.’ I loved that. So true.
It’s this thought that crosses my ever-moving mind as I ponder the ‘attacks’ that seem to sometimes come my way.
Now these aren’t attacks in the literal sense. They are merely the cost of living and relating (or not, as the case may be) with people who think differently…with people whose foundation is made up of different experiences…whose filter uses a different process than my own and, therefore, produces a different end result. And that’s okay. Sort of.
What feels like an attack may be projection, transference, a simple misunderstanding or any number of things… but this I know for sure: if they are coming at me like a homemade arrow in a jungle fight or a sniper hidden on a roof…they don’t belong to me. They belong to the person slinging them around.
In fact, relaying the story to a trusted friend, I indicated that I felt like Wonder Woman. You know…when she lifts her forearms, bares her gold cuffs and expertly deflects bullet after bullet, sending it careening into the atmosphere. Ping! Ping! Ping!
And there she is. Unscathed, albeit somewhat mystified and maybe a little tired but definitely on guard for the next firing…her steely eyes circling the perimeter looking for the next culprit…ready to use her indestructible bracelets to absorb the impact of incoming attacks.
And that’s how I feel sometimes…just a little bit.
And it’s only then that I remember that the purpose of Wonder Woman was to bring love, hope and equality to a world torn apart by hatred…that her gifts not only included her indestructible bracelets but her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to…well…not lie.
And I like this memory.
And I feel a sense of relief that yes, Wonder Woman defies hatred and leads with love and I feel like that too.
A little bit.
And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that attacks are meant to harm not heal…that abuse is abuse – whether it is flying through the air and pinging off your arm or sneaking its way into your psyche. None of it is for good.
And I know for sure, that when someone attacks, abuses, is aggressive or even passive-aggressive, they are not presenting the truth of who you are but are presenting the truth of who they are.
They are not calling out your weakness but their own…they are not pointing out some denied aspect of yourself but denying a part of their own being…they are not wrapped in truth but warped in delivery.
AND until it is communicated in a way that doesn’t have you reaching upward and outward to use your mighty cuffs to fend off the arrow, bullet or word (as the case may be) it is not yours to take on.
It is theirs to sort through.
You are fine…just as you are, with arms that are mighty and strong and character that is bound to truth. And you do not need to scan the perimeter or defend yourself – wielding your cuffs and brandishing your lasso.
You need only ground yourself in hope – defying hatred and leading with love -knowing that the message you need to hear will always come wrapped in love when it is gifted in truth.
And that, woman of wonders, is the greatest super power of all.
Unthink this: Can you find the wonder in your woman and let her lasso the truth?