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Empowering Cartoons

© Jo Murphy

Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.

I was having a monthly counseling session. You know the usual Inner Child Healing / Monthly Tune Up/Check Up designed to supervise those who work in Mental Health. Helps to keep the emotional engine tuned and running evenly. I was explaining to my counselor that people keep "Duking Up" to me when I least expect it.

Not that this was causing me any genuine anxiety. I was not 'in fear.' Nor was I about to lose my job. On the contrary - I was finding that women seemed to be taking me on just for the sake of it. Perhaps they were setting out to prove that they were better than me.

Or maybe they were trying to exert power and control and establish influence. It seemed to be for no real reason that I could imagine. I was puzzled and a bit worried about whether someone would eventually get hurt. My boundaries were constantly being invaded. Logic announced that other women were trying to have a win over me in situations where they just simply couldn't win.

What to do? I couldn't allow the challenge to my authority - not on this constant basis. And yet hurting others just for the sake of a show of power seemed wrong and unnecessary. I felt cornered. I did not like the feeling that accompanied being forced into a position of hurting others. However it seemed necessary. Yet a defensive/offensive action would compromise my own values and sense of integrity.

So the session continued "yadder/yadder," on and on. Perhaps I was over dramatizing, seeing problems where there were none?

Casually without a flicker of an eye my counselor said,

"Well a flea can shake its fist at an elephant!"

BING!

I saw it immediately. Visualised it in an instant. Here was a cartoon in the making. I captured the image the minute I got home. Stuck it to the computer and set out to do battle.

Empowered by a lighthearted sense of humour I tackled all outstanding authority issues that afternoon. I wrote down how I was feeling and the proposed solution to all battles. Sent emails containing these solutions away before allowing myself time to get cold feet. After accomplishing communications I had been struggling with for weeks - I settled to down to a peaceful nights sleep.

Over the next week I was accompanied on my leadership challenge by a friend and ali - my cartoon!

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