Green is my favourite colour.
It hasn’t always been that way. I’ve gone through red, then orange…but finally settled on green a few years back because of my fondness for a certain ring-wearing superhero.
Of course, I’m speaking of the Green Lantern.
To be fair, there is just one Green Lantern. There are many. My favourite happens to be the most popular one, Hal Jordan. And while I was disappointed with how the live-action movie version of my favourite hero’s turned out, I’m still a huge fan. That’s because his power comes from the tremendous amount of will he possesses.
That’s a power we all have. How much we’re willing to tap into it is another matter altogether.
The Green Lantern’s ring allows him to construct anything that he can will it to. Ultimately, we can do the same. Everything that a Green Lantern builds is used for a purpose; it’s more about why something needs to be constructed than what needs to be constructed. I tend to look at our lists and tasks in the same manner. I ask myself why I’m doing that task – or why I need to do it – rather than what I need to do. By doing that, I’m creating something with a greater purpose – something that will lead to a better result because I asked the right question. I asked about the why over the what.
Willpower means that the “why” comes first – well before the “what” enters the picture.
The what only comes in first when you are afraid that you aren’t doing what you really are meant to be doing. And what keeps pushing you in that direction?
Fear.
Which just so happens to the power that fuels the Green Lantern’s arch-enemy, Sinestro and his Yellow Lantern Corps. Fear keeps you in check, and keeps you checking off boxes that don’t really mean all that much to the greater scheme of things. You don’t explore boxes that are worth more than that because you’re afraid to go there. Because every little bit that you go beyond your comfort zone, it gets that much scarier.
But with will at your side, you can go there. And you can keep going there time and time again, keeping fear at bay.
So, as we celebrate a day where the colour green is pretty much everywhere, use that to steel yourself against fear. Every bit of green you see today should stand as a reminder of where you want to go – without fear.
Just remember, it’s not easy being green. Then again, nothing really worthwhile is all that easy to begin with…now is it?
Photo credit: JD Hancock (CC BY 2.0)
