Beyond Lois Lane's underwear color

Last week Dennis said something that struck me. I keep thinking about it, trying to unpack it a little more.

We were having dinner at The Rooftop, a favorite summer hang. A gorgeous sunset was in the works; we had cold drinks in front of us and string lights above us. I had my feet up on an empty chair at our table. It was that kind of night. 

I don't even remember what we were talking about. I know it wasn't superheroes, I don't think it was even philosophical, which is why it surprised me when Dennis said, "If I could pick a superpower, I'd want to know everyone's story just by looking at them."

Wait. That could be a superpower?

When people talk about their dream superpowers, I always assume they mean the established ones. Invisibility (my previous favorite). Flying. X-Ray vision. Stretching (or whatever that rubbery superhero does). I never considered inventing a whole new one. 

Maybe this is just a different version of x-ray vision. Moving beyond seeing what color underwear Lois Lane is wearing to knowing her unique story.

Where she's from. What her hobbies are. If she knows some of the same people you know. What scares her. What inspires her. To know all of that at a glance.

We did a fair amount of rolling this idea over. Our discussion ranged from the deep (How would you treat people differently if you knew their past hurts and heartaches?) to the shallow (It would be so easy to pick up people!). What?! My indignation quickly gave way to oh my gosh, you're so right.

Like all great superpowers, the holder would be charged with the task of using it for good and not evil.

I'm not a great conversationalist. I don't always know the right questions to ask or the sweet-spot topics to bring up. I'm thinking this superpower might help a whole lot. 

It makes me wonder what I would find out about even about the people I consider close friends. I'm not talking about skeletons in closets. (Can I put a filter on my superpower? Because there might be things I don't want to know.)

Or, I don't know, maybe I'd find something in common between your skeletons and my own.

But the essence of this ability would really be to see a person in their wholeness, and not just the cross-section that happens to be in front of me at the moment. 

I'd like to be able to do that. The next time we talk, tell me something about yourself that I don't know. Or, I'll try to remember to ask. 

I don't need to know what color underwear you're wearing, but if you really want me to know, I'm cool with that, too.