Finding our place of belonging

One of my favorite movie lines is from Spider Man, when the grandfather, as he is dying on the sidewalk from an attack during a break in, tells young Spider Man: “With great power comes great responsibility!”   The entire scene is an antitheses, pointing out how young Spiderman was greatly wronged and would have any number of reasons for revenge and destruction.   The difference is, Spider Man was not seeking great power, he was sort of bitten by it. He ends up choosing to use his power for the greater good.    In most cases, however, power is intentionally sought by individuals who believe that they are only worthwhile when they have power; preferably unlimited power over others.   At some point, these individuals felt overpowered and concluded that being in the position of power is the preferred place to be.   T o some degree, we all openly or secretly admire those who have achieved great wealth and are in a position of power. ...

Back in the day, when I was involved in running the Adlerian elementary and middle school, I would produce several performances throughout the year.   During the rehearsals leading up to the show, we would always have a few kids who felt discouraged about one thing or another and it would manifest itself in the way they behaved.   All discouragement is, in part, due to feelings of inadequacy, which arise from our belief that we have to earn our worth and our place in this world.   Those same kids would start to act out, not their assigned part, but rather by creating a disturbance back stage, undermining other's efforts and putting their own agenda above the interest of the group.   The way I approached the problem was to avoid getting into it with them and also by not giving them the airtime or an audience.   I asked them to leave the stage, until such time as they were able to participate in a helpful manner. When they returned, (and they always d...

In the lead up to the United States of America’s  I ndependence Day, I am reflecting on where this country once was and where it is now.   The journey so many have taken to come here, for opportunity, religious freedom, safety etc.   Seeing the Statue of Liberty and what they believed it represented.   Each time I see a sign, shirt or bumper sticker saying “Make America Great Again”   I find myself wondering how did we come to be so fearful.    As Adler points out in his   theory of Individual Psychology,   “all psychological compensation states that the stronger the feeling of inferiority, the higher the goal for personal power. “   Our fear of not being enough, not having enough (in a land of plenty) not trusting, not feeling safe, whatever our fear, we seem to be operating from that very fear.   We can only find our courage if we face whatever fear has a hold on us and often it comes down to the one core fear of not...