The Hulk is a wonderful and unique superhero. An uncontrollable monster living within the calm and banal being of the brilliant Dr.Banner, he is feared by friends and foes alike. But then, who would want to be friends with such a monster? That is a different issue.
The first two instalments of The Hulk franchise had Dr.Banner struggling with his incapability to control the monster. After zeroing in on his anger as the catalyst that triggers the emergence of The Hulk, the Doctor tries everything from solitude to meditation to calm himself down. The point I am trying to make here is, The Hulk is the anger. Destructive, uncaring and confused. Isn’t this how we see ourselves when we are infuriated? Anger makes us go blind, when everything and everyone seems to be conspiring against us. Who would want to be friends with such a monster?
In the final sequence of The Avengers, when Dr.Banner has been labelled as a deserter and the other superheroes are busy fighting the onslaught of the Alien armies, he appears. When asked, what is the secret to unleashing the hulk, he calmly replies, “I am always angry.” smiles and transforms. Something attracted me to the sequence again and again. I wondered, what was it that was so interesting about the scene? The answer due to a clue I found in a very interesting article by Tom Wootton in Psychology Today.
We have forever been fighting anger. Anger management courses, yoga, exercises, meditation all point to the same concept of controlling a genuine emotion. Dr.Banner is able to control the monster within by not actually controlling his anger but by accepting it. The anger no longer controls him and so he doesn’t need to worry about the monster going berserk. Bruce Wayne had to accept his fear of bats to become Batman. Bruce Banner had to accept his fear of anger to become The Hulk.
Acceptance is such a wonderful tool to leading a better life. But forever we always struggle with it considering it to be a weakness. How many times have I seen people struggling to come to terms with reality just because they won’t accept it? Acceptance is akin to losing for them. Even if it ruins their lives, they keep struggling, fighting and trying hard to win. Success is more important than peace of mind.
Which brings me to my favourite topic, what is our purpose in life? To achieve super success? To drive a car? To own a bungalow? Or to live a peaceful and fruitful life? Not every one of us can be a superstar but that does in no way mean we are insignificant. Every one of us has a purpose in life. In the cult movie, The Matrix, Morpheus spends his entire life to find Neo. But does he for a moment feel bad about the fact that he is not Neo? Why can’t he be The One? Because it is his purpose in life. To find Neo and make him believe that he is The One.
But in today’s ultra competitive world, everyone wants to be no less than The One himself. If we learn to find peace in our purpose in life instead of running after the defined meaning of success, life will have meaning. Every time I complete writing five hundred meaningful stitched together in one lithe page, I feel successful. My dearest friend, finds success every time he travels to the Himalayas. The determination he shows and the drive he exhibits when he climbs those treacherous mountains is nothing less than the power the Hulk displays.
There is a Hulk inside us all, a monster, but it is our own. It is up to us how we befriend the monster and put it to good use. Anger can be recycled and so can our other emotions, easily, but what really matters is how willing we are to accept that monster.
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