Your “Ungodly” Power
When parents tell me about situations in which they have felt powerless, there’s a common thread I notice:
Many people seem to think that “powerless” means “less power” than an all-powerful GOD!
Okay, I’m being a bit facetious, but stay with me...
Some people seem to think they’re not powerful unless they can alter the space-time continuum or override the free will of other human beings. (Even the Almighty supposedly doesn’t mess with free will!)
A mother of two little boys shared this situation:
“I’m cooking and I hear crying and shouting from another room — possibly one son attacking the other. I want to immediately go to the boys, but first I need to make the kitchen safe; I cannot be in two places at once; I feel powerless to protect my boys.”
I happen to know that this particular mother is intelligent and competent, and her frustration is understandable. So all I’m really saying is this: The fact that she can’t perform the supernatural act of being in two places at once doesn’t mean she is powerless, it just means she isn’t “God.” :)
Many parents have shared situations that involved dealing with “bad behavior.” For example:
“My ex claims he is broke and can never help financially with the little things for our children: swim classes, clothes, Christmas presents, etc. Yet he [travels frequently] while I stay at home and take care of kids. How do I find my power when I feel this is unfair?”
— Jealous in Minnesota
“I feel powerless with a disrespectful teen daughter and with an always shaming/blaming husband.”
— Doormat in DC
“I feel powerless over my husband who smokes excessively [and doesn’t do enough to protect the baby from second-hand smoke].”
— Disgusted Down Under
“My mum and son both talk to me at the same time. [Drives] me crazzzzzy!!”
— Knutty in Knutsford
I wish I could give everyone the god-like power to make others into the perfectly kind, considerate, respectful souls they could be. But I can’t. (However I can show you how to make new choices for yourself that might inspire others to change.)
The fact that you lack god-like power doesn’t mean you lack ALL power. When you consider the power of your MIND — the power to transform the entire universe of your personal experience by simply taking a new perspective — you’re still pretty damn powerful!
— You can decide that your ex’s hypocrisy is LAUGHABLE.
— You can conclude that your daughter and husband’s disrespectful behavior has nothing to do with you and is just a strategy they use to avoid feeling their DEEP SADNESS.
— You can decide to leave your smokey husband, or...
— You can use it as an excuse to spend more time with your baby in nature, breathing ultra-fresh, cleansing air.
— You can pretend that you’re on a game show in which the challenge is to comprehend people talking over each other — so you can win a “BRAND NEW CAR!!!”
Those are just some random ideas that came to me because I ignored my lack of god-like abilities and focused on my very real power to try on new perspectives. I’m sure you could think of many more.
A new perspective means looking at the same thing from a new angle to create a new experience of it. And since there are infinite angles, there is no limit to the variety of experiences that you can create.
Infinite possibilities. That’s powerful!
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