In the sorely overlooked and under appreciated 2017 film BREATHE, starring former Spider Man Andrew Garfield, first time director Andy Serkis (the performance capture artist for CGI icons like Gollum and Caeser from The Planet of the Apes remakes) admirably sheds light on a true story filled with LOVE and Inspirational Bliss! The story spins the tale of newly married Robin Cavendish, who at the tender age of 28 is struck down with the devastating disease polio. Completely paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own, he is given just three months to live from his team of doctors. While in the hospital, Cavendish falls under the veil of a deep depression. His wife sees his 'situation' through a much different lens! With the novel assistance of both her twin brothers and an inventor friend, this team quickly manufactures a portable ventilator that allows Cavendish to return to his own home!
After a series of several missteps, this supportive group is finally able to produce a much more sustainable and very durable version of the ventilator machine. Thus freeing Cavendish from his state of home confined imprisonment! Together with their young son, the pair sets out on a series of trips scouring the world for their next adventure, much to the dismay of his professional care team. While the Cavendishes dream BIG, their actions defy the more pragmatic tenets of care for someone in Robin's condition.
As word quickly spreads throughout the polio community about the derring do's of the Cavendish family, Robin is summoned to visit with various treatment centers in Europe. And what he discovers is beyond horrifying! Men and women having been similarly struck down with this punishing dis-ease, spending their days in metal shaped cocoons staring at a celling that holds only a key to the visions of vast nothingness. Despite the reticence of the 'polio professionals', Robin and his team of inventors find their life's CALLING in both mass producing and improving upon the very ventilator machine that freed him from a life of complete stagnation! With a mission to distribute these miracle makers to any persons suffering with this horrendous affliction. And before his passing, Robin is able to rescue thousands of people stricken with polio with a new life sentence! One that frees them from their isolation and lack of mobility!
Robin Cavendish is a powerful example of how we can ALL use our unique life experiences (including pain) as an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE. One that will also assist us toward finding our personal CALLING! Oftentimes, an Unfair Advantage is a superior skill set one possesses that truly separates them from the pack. Exemplary oratory and/or written prowess are perfect examples. Or perhaps having extensive experience in certain areas such as executive leadership or high tech implementation.
However, we often circumvent the belief that perhaps our greatest UNFAIR ADVANTAGE lies within our life's greatest pain, suffering, trials and tribulations. Until the re-memberance that we are all on a Hero's Journey and everything that we experience is preparing us for our unique CALLING! That cancer taught you empathy and compassion towards others. Losing several jobs provided the wisdom on how to better manage finances and stay centered through periods of utter chaos! The devastating divorce forced you out of your comfort zone. And prepared you to stand on your own for perhaps the first time in your life. The bigger the MESS the more you've been BLESSED!! I hope I just did Dr. Seuss proud!! ;0)
The Universe is very proficient and wastes NOTHING! So why should YOU! Every obstacle you have faced was called forth by your Spirit in order to prepare you for everything you've asked for! As Victor Frankel professed, "The downfall of man is not suffering. The downfall of man is suffering for no reason." In fact, suffering for no reason is the closest I can come toward anything resembling a 'Sin.' I like to say, "Don't let all your pain be in VEIN"!! For once we find meaning in our pain, it transforms into acceptance and then GRATITUDE! For we are able to seize from our suffering the blessed gifts that are left in its wake! And the blessings are always bountiful! And as most of you know, I have experienced this time and time again throughout my life.
To flesh out my point, I know that my core UNFAIR ADVANTAGE as a transformative teacher and coach comes from all of the various maladies that have touched my mind, body, and spirit. From Crohn's disease and debilitating depression, to Aynklosing Spondilitis and asthma. Complicated fistula and triple hernia surgeries, to the jolt of a parental abandonment, I like to say I have gone down the 'buffet line of life.' Because it's true! Now while in the middle of these various life challenges, it DID NOT always feel like I was in the midst of birthing a MIRACLE! And yet, now being able to connect the dots, it is so crystal clear how that is exactly what my pain brought me. Nothing but boatloads of BLESSINGS and MIRACLES galore! And a true UNFAIR ADVANTAGE in the transformational coaching industry. While I have taken many courses and read several hundred books, there is nothing more powerful than experiencing most anything life can dish out and live to tell the tale! As Carl Jung professed, "It is he who has been touched by the malady who is best suited to be a healer." Wouldn't you agree with both of us?!?!
I feel as though I have a "double major" in Unfair Advantages. I have an encyclopedic Master's degree in modern mythology. When I was 17 years young, I was a manager at our local Blockbusters. My own personal collection of films on VHS tapes (yeah, I also had to travel three miles up a hill in snow to go to school lol) reached into the hundreds. And my slavish passion of all things MYTH has only continued expand. I watch about 75% of all movies that pass through my local multiplexes. Often several times! And let's not even go into the media landscape of TV and books. If I haven't seen or read it, I KNOW about it.
This knowledge base allows me to incorporate the amazing power of Modern Myth into all my spiritual teaching/coaching/consulting. For as Joseph Campbell said, "Myth is the song of the Universe. It is the song of the imagination."
Modern mythology is a transformational gateway back to our Super Heroic Higher Self! I adore this quote from the hit superhero tv show, Cloak and Dagger. "Myth is a part of our collective consciousness. It carries the DNA of spiritual direction and re-membrance. Myth is a mirror; one we hold up to SEE ourSELVES more clearly. For that is the catch twenty two of the human condition. The inability to see ourSELVES for who we (truly) are."
As you can see, my ability to conjure up and weave Modern Myth into my teachings is par none! A powerful Unfair Advantage to my terrific fellow spiritual coaches/teachers.
My pain cut a clear PATH smack dab in the dead center of my CALLING! Although I always had a proclivity toward spiritual understanding, it was being delivered to 'death's door' on more than one occasion that caused me to become a Truth Seeker and Wounded Healer. Once you catch even a glimpse of life on the other side, there is No Going Back!! I became passionately obsessed with the Spirit that lives within our bodies. And through my pain, I was given a PHD in the ways of the Universe! Now it was very hard fought, but OH SO WORTH IT!! And now my life's mission is to share that Wisdom with others. ONE HERO AT A TIME!!
HEROES IN TRAINING TAKEAWAY
Each and every one of us has a powerful UNFAIR ADVANTAGE! Perhaps you have already uncovered yours. And KUDOS to you if that is the case! But for those of you still searching, I highly suggest you start with your Pain Points. How has your own suffering blessed you with gifts that can be used to serve both yourself and others? What struggles have you overcome that could be beneficial information for others going through a similar challenge?? In what areas has your life progressed from pain? Re-member, pain's true purpose is to show us the areas that still need to be developed in order to fulfill your CALLING.
Another tactic is to talk with people who have seen you through the tough times. Ask them in what ways they have seen growth and wisdom birthed through your life's treacherous challenges. I think you will be amazed by how much intuition and insight such conversations will produce! I know my friends have helped keep me on course toward my CALLING on several occasions. Others often have a perspective on situations that you do not. The whole 'forest through the trees' type of thing.
Please do not underestimate the importance of both finding and understanding your own UNFAIR ADVANTAGE. For it contains the DNA toward your unique Heroic Journey!
Your very reason for coming here! Trust me, once you are living your life's CALLING, everyday is Christmas/Hanukah and you are bathed in BLISS!!!
BE HEROIC............
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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