if you wanna sing out...

Don't get me wrong- affirmations are a good thing. I mean, come on now, I've been the queen of affirmation for about 26 years running. But what if affirmations are constantly given without calling the child (or people of any age) to more, to strive to do the best they can, even if that means leaving other children in the dust? These questions were brought to bear in an article in this past Sunday's Times: "When Every Child is Good Enough." It delved into themes revolving around a child's self-esteem raised by the recent Pixar flick, The Incredibles.

A superhero family that has become obsolete moves to the suburbs through the "Superhero Relocation Program" and has been sworn not to use any of their superhero powers in public. This is fine for the parents (who have become accustomed to this), but for the kids, it is frustrating. The Incredibles's 7-year old son, Dash, whose superpower is the ability to run reeeaaally fast, isn't allowed to go out for sports because he'd outrun (by miles) the other kids...and thus, be exhibiting his superpower in public. He questions his mom, Elastigirl (can you guess what her superpower is?) about it and she says, "Everyone's special." A typical mom response. To which Dash replies, "Which means no one is." Diminishing our own talents and not rocking the boat so everyone can feel comfortable in their own "specialness" doesn't do any of us good. It is our talents and the degree to which we allow them to shine that is the challenge we give to each other.