Superpower

Think about it for a moment: what have you learned that you can do better than anyone you know this year? What can you do that no one else can?

I was so hoping this prompt would be about what superpower I would want if I could choose any super power. That would be too easy.

Taking this angle with superpowers is a bit more difficult. But I guess that's the point of Resound '11. If there was one thing that I learned I could do better than anyone I know this year, it would have to be...

Problem Solving. For Others.

A few times this year friends and family have come to me with their problems. I am a good listener, so people vent to me all the time. And I'm a man so I automatically want to try to fix the thing that is being vented about. It's just in my nature. I know some people (usually women) can just listen and empathize about a problem a friend is having, but I cannot. I have a really hard time not trying to solve the issue that is causing so much grief, heartache, and/or annoyance.

And many times this year I have problem solved in a positive way. I helped a friend talk to that girl. I assisted in figuring out how to light that scene. I showed my cousin the right way to deal with what was going on. I helped someone figure out how to see what they really wanted to do with their life and which path to take.

Of course I am awesome at helping others with their problems, but when it comes to figuring out my problems, I draw a blank. And where are the good listeners (or even half-way decent listeners) when I am in need of an ear? Where are the great friends or problem solvers when I have something to figure out? This is my curse. Just as Superman is The Man of Steel but one little shiny rock can cripple him, so do I have my own downfall. I am cursed to be the listener but not the listened to.

And I guess I'm okay with that. I can go on helping people fight the good fight all the while struggling with my internal demons silently.