Help Wanted

Whether or not you are looking for a new job, consider this opportunity. Please.

Here are some of the particulars: You can work from home, travel is discretionary, and you are a perfect fit.   This is a full time position you can ease into as time allows. There is no salary but lots of benefits.

Before I make my formal offer, check out the following YouTube link; it's the beginning of the 1950’s TV show The Adventures of Superman.  I share it because  thoughts of Superman created (in my mind) this job opportunity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2l4bz1FT8U

Superman and Me

During my formative years in the 1950s, my family had one TV; it had electronic tubes that needed to warm up before the black and white images would appear; I did, of course, sit too close to the screen... watching, mesmerized, as superman fought evil.

Bad guys would plot and scheme bad things, from robberies to world domination, and Superman would thwart them all. Bad guys would shoot at him with guns and the bullets just bounced off his chest.  Superman could walk through fire, unscathed.  He was fearless and but for the needed dramatic twist to keep people watching, there was no uncertainty—Superman always prevailed.

Superman, however, had a vulnerability… Kryptonite… a mineral from his home planet that had been destroyed in a cataclysm and now found in small quantities on earth.  If Superman came too close to Kryptonite he would weaken and, potentially, die. Humans were not affected by Kryptonite nor were other superheroes like Batman or Wonder Women.

But for Kryptonite, Superman was invincible and, quite frankly, better at everything than anyone... mortal or super. So, given this fact, did the world need more than one superhero? Wasn’t Superman enough? After all, he could do everything, and do it better.

I’ve spent a little time (very little) thinking about this and came to the following conclusion: Despite the fact that Superman, alone, could make the world safe and secure, the world is a better place because of all superheroes.

Here’s my reasoning: The world is filled with needs (large and small) and any superhero who rights a wrong, makes the world better… not simply for the deed done but, just as importantly, because their moral presence matters.

The Job Offer

Thus it has become clear to me the world needs more superheroes.  

More superheroes are needed to elevate the importance of kindness and compassion in the world… every day and everywhere.  The world needs more superheroes to do such jobs as cure illnesses, lift people out of poverty, dispel ignorance, create art, address environmental threats, and create joy.  This is a short list of needs and you probably have items to add.  This job opportunity allows you to add to this list and, to the best of your ability, fix them.

While I trust Superman is real and active in the world, I believe he needs help; and while I further believe Wonder Women, Batman, and Santa Claus are active as well, they need help too.  That’s where you come in and the reason I am sharing this Help Wanted posting.

Everyone has a superpower… you and me included. Some people are physicians who can heal the sick, some are teachers who can instill knowledge, some are carpenters who can shelter the homeless, and, with a simple smile and kind word, anyone can dispel sadness.  

While I believe everyone has a superpower that can be used for good, I confess that, at times, I do not feel I measure up... physically or mentally.  And, at times, I do not  worthy to join Superman, Batman, Wonder Women, and so many of my mortal peers in this work. Sometimes I feel other people are so much stronger, faster, and smarter than me I should just let them do it.  There is no need for me to get involved.

And worse, still, Time is my Kryptonite. The longer I am exposed, the weaker I become.

Notwithstanding time, my limitations and doubts, at my core I believe I have superpowers and can make a difference. I can fix a leaky faucet or listen and talk with people in need; I can teach.  I have the power to share a sincere smile; I can make people laugh.  I have the ability to treat others with kindness.  I can lift others out of suffering with a generous spirit; I can support others in their superhero work.  I can read to someone who cannot. And, as John Prine asserted, I can simply say “Hello in there.”

I have powers... nay... 'superpowers’; so, despite doubt, I took the job.  

You have superpowers too.  Don’t let doubt or anything delay your decision to accept the position.  

In fact, let me make this easy for you: 
You're hired.  Get to work.

Mitch Sakofs

January, 2019