Wednesday’s Wonder Women: You. Yes, You. All of You.

I know what you’re thinking: Oh my word, she’s done it. She’s run out of inspiring women to write about.

Not true. In the slightest.

In fact, it’s just the opposite. There’s so many I could write about that today, I got overwhelmed. I was reading about all these amazing women and couldn’t choose.

So I decided to write about all of you.

Hang on. Let me explain.

One of the groups of women I thought about today were my co-workers. I don’t say this enough, but each of you have my deep respect. There is a lot of room for talent in our job, and even though that means many of us are vastly different from each other, it means there’s a lot of room to respect each other, too.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of you, its that – more often than not – vulnerability invites respect.

Even in those people we really don’t think will understand.

Take last night, for example.

Any of you who watched even a portion of the miserable hockey game know the outcome. And though I should probably be upset about that – many have wondered why I’m ‘still on the bandwagon’ (the truth is I’m not a part of the bandwagon, I’m one of those pitiful few pushing it up a hill) – the only thing I can think about this morning are the words, I can’t stand to fly, I’m not that naive, I’m just out to find… the better part of me…

Rick Rypien’s tribute video – an emotional goodbye to a player who didn’t technically play for us anymore, but who had somehow stayed so fresh in our hearts – was extremely moving. Those at the game told me there was not a dry eye in the house.

Hundreds of grown men were crying… at a hockey game.

Huh.

And I realized that despite all the flaws and disappointments, its stuff like this that makes this team still work in this city.

Because, for some reason, the fans connect to the team.

Somehow, knowledge of Rypien’s personal struggles only made us love him more. It made his fights more powerful, his victories more meaningful, and his friendships with the rest of the players more significant.

We used to want flawless heroes, men and women who were perfect examples or role models no matter what situation they faced.

But I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

‘It may sound absurd… but don’t be naive… even heroes have a right to bleed…’

More than ever, we are a society that wants to know the deep, dark, secrets of everyone’s life. We almost feel entitled to it. And though I don’t advocate unrestrained emotional blood-letting, I’ve learned that the reason we look for the strong to fall, is that we want some way to relate to them.

We’re looking for heroes we understand.

We no longer want imperviousness.  We want strength.

Because, if we’re being honest, here, we all have some sort of layers we’re not sharing with others; we each harbor some secret that only a select few – or maybe even no one at all – knows. We each protect some unvarnished truth that we’re deeply ashamed of.

I know I do. Even what I share in this blog is … edited.

Editing isn’t bad. Editing is good. We don’t need to share it all.

But I wonder what would happen if we were a little more brave with the truth. Would – at least a part of – our world be just a little more safe?

Because, though this kind of honesty is not meant for everyone, I’m learning that there are likely more people you can trust than you think.

Really.

So, today, my Wednesday’s Wonder Woman, is you.

Yes, you. All of you.

Deep down, you each have something really fascinating to share. No matter how thick your cover story, beneath all that is something so rich, powerful, and downright heroic, that if it were to come out, we might just have to applaud you, for being stronger than that thing.

‘… It’s not easy to be me….’

Maybe those words apply to all of us.

So hats off to all of you today. You are all Wonder Women.

I hope you get that. I hope you believe it. I hope you … wield those Amazonium bracelets with precision… and wrangle your lassos of truth with confidence.

And I hope you rock that superhero outfit too.

Because I, for one, am cheering for you.