Beautiful Mutants

After a dry summer and a string of scorching heatwaves, we’re finally getting some rain here in the Bay Area.

On rainy days, my kids love to stay home and play with Legos. They’re both so creative with their builds - it’s amazing what they can come up with. So of course, with Christmas not too far away, the boys have been mentally composing their wishlists. My older one, a huge Batman fan, has his eye on an Arkham Asylum set.

This sparked a conversation around superhero origin stories, and how they always seem to involve mutation of some kind.

In my work, I’ve had the honor of hearing many of my clients’ origin stories.

They are stories of pain, rejection, abandonment, and also of resilience, brilliance and courage.

There usually is a clear before and after moment - a deep gash before which there is still innocence, and after which we are never the same.

We become something else. It’s like we have mutated. Our eyes and hearts will never perceive the world in the same way again.

A year or so ago, I had lunch with a lovely friend who is the scapegoat of her family. We met online, and so, being finally able to meet in person, we had a three hour lunch. We shared our stories. When it was my turn, what I saw in her eyes was not pity, but true compassion and understanding that comes from having been through similar terrain.

While I don’t think I could honestly ever say that I’m grateful for the suffering, and how I was mistreated, I am grateful for how my experiences transformed me.

And as my friend said, “You are not your family. You are something different. And if it weren’t for your experiences, you wouldn’t be what you are today.”

We are the turning points. The mutation in the sequence.

Your deep compassion, understanding, and sensitivity can only come from a heart that has been fully broken open.

You will never be the same again. And that’s a good thing.

Looking at our world it’s clear that we don’t need more of the same thing.

If you believe in the theory of us being tiny sparks of the Universe, little cells of Mother Earth herself, then She has deliberately placed you where you are, within your families of origin.

Do you sometimes feel like you’re a disrupter just by being yourself?

Like the iron that transforms quartz to amethyst. The grain of sand that initiates the formation of the pearl. The pattern interrupter that breaks the cycle in the family.

Our world needs more tenderness, compassion and understanding than ever. It needs your cycle breaker gifts.

Keep being you, showing up as your authentic self. We are the beautiful mutants, and I’m so glad you’re here.