It's Fun To Imagine

        

        Why do superheroes attract such a large audience or followers? Whenever the first story was told of a human with a superhuman ability or abilities, I can see in my mind's eye a captivated audience. I believe the human desire to not only exist, but live above and beyond our limited capabilities has always been fuel for the imagination, a draw for story-tellers and a possible opportunity with technology for many.

        Until movies came along, especially colored movies with special effects, all people had were either an oral tradition of storytelling for the illiterate or their books and their imaginations. Now, with movies, we are subject to the interpretation of the imagination of the Director/Producer of that movie, if the movie is based on a book. Sometimes the creativity in those films can be justified with our imaginations and other times, not so much. This is the pull - to see if our vision of the superhero lines up with the portrayal of him/her in the movie.

        Coming out of a movie or finishing a book with superheroes involved has always energized my thoughts and imaginations. I don't know of any young kid in my generation that did not pretend he/she was their favorite superhero in playtime after seeing them in the movies or reading about them in their book. Some adults still do that with videogames, afterward involving themselves with Cosplay (Costume Wearing/Acting) at certain conferences around the nation.

        There are a plethora of these superhuman, superhero stories out there to tell. Why is there a market for this? Why do we seemingly need this in our lives? I believe for many of us, not all, though we believe in our individuality of ourselves, the common likenesses more than makes-up for what makes us different from everybody else. Many people go through the same things in life and take the same approach to things and common ground can be great in a lot of instances, but it rubs up against desiring to not to be content, wanting to stand out, be a leader and make a difference with some kind of superpower.

        When we come back to Earth after our movies and books we know that we do not have our favorite superpower we lived through on the screen or on the pages. No power of flight, invisibility or mind reading is available to us. But what we do have is each other and the power of choice to be a positive impact on every life you come in contact with on a daily basis. 

        This power of choice has a rule or law tied to it called - You Reap What You Sow. For the non-farmers out there, sowing is planting and reaping is harvesting or gathering in the crops when they are ready to eat. But you can sow or plant other seeds than food. You can plant words of encouragement, kindness, support and love into lives. The rule above says that if you do that encouragement, kindness, support and love will come back to you. Take note, the same thing can be said for those who plant any other kind of seed, especially negativity.

        We hold tremendous power within us now without the aid of superheroes. The heroes we have in our own world - the first responders, law enforcement, doctors, nurses and anybody that is saving lives and trying to make our world a better place to live - should be on our movie screens and in our books and in our speech.

        I realize that books and movies are a release for many from real-world pressures and stress. Just so we keep the right perspective is my main concern, especially with the massive amount of superhero content that has been produced over the last fifty years. We are special and I believe each one of us has a gift, some would say a superpower, to tap into, in order to contribute to the enhancement of themselves and others. Superheroes and superpowers in movies and books may not carry over to us like we would want, but they can fuel the fire to approach our challenges with courage and the gifts and talents we possess; plus It's Fun To Imagine.