Are superheroes real? They are now!
Treesong is part of the Real-Life Superhero movement. Real-Life Superheroes (RLSH) are people who adopt a superhero persona as part of their effort to help and serve their community and their world. Common RLSH activities include street outreach to provide aid to the houseless, neighborhood clean-ups, and supporting mutual aid efforts and charitable causes.
Treesong’s superhero mission emphasizes climate justice, environmental justice, and social justice. He works on many different projects in his service to this mission:
- Treesong is the founder and current branch leader of the Illinois Initiative, a local branch of the international Initiative Collective.
- Treesong cohosts the Your Community Spirit radio show with Aur “Da Energy Mon” Beck. This show provide news and commentary about environmental issues on Friday mornings. You can listen live on WDBX or subscribe to the Your Community Spirit podcast.
- Treesong takes direct and indirect action to support a variety of local, regional, national, and global causes related to his superhero mission.
- Treesong writes climate fiction, nonfiction and poetry as a way of raising awareness about the climate crisis.
Why does Treesong adopt a superhero persona? What do super heroes in real life do?
The simple, playful answer is that it’s fun! Becoming a superhero is a fun, creative, inspiring way to do community service work. Treesong has been a lifelong fan of superhero fiction. This fiction played a major in inspiring his choice to dedicate significant amounts of time, energy, and personal resources to community involvement. Adopting a superhero identity in real life is a playful take on the hero’s journey that often entertains and inspires people who share Treesong’s appreciation for fictional superheroes.
There’s also a more serious answer.
Treesong’s work often deals with very serious public concerns: climate justice, environmental justice, social justice, and basic survival for people who have been historically excluded by society’s economic and political institutions. Many people have a hard time getting into community work, or sustaining their involvement, because of the stress and burnout associated with responding to serious problems on a regular basis. Treesong uses humor, poetry, storytelling, and concrete action steps to frame his community involvement as the Exciting Adventures of a Real-Life Superhero rather than a source of stress and burnout. This helps him to sustain his activism and offers him the opportunity to invite new people to join in these adventures in whatever ways they feel called to get involved.
I choose the Hero’s Journey. I choose a life of self-actualization. I choose to serve my community. I choose to work for climate justice, the good of humanity, and the evolution of life and consciousness. I choose to work together with others who share similar goals and visions of a world where we discover and manifest our greatest potentials together. The principles of freedom, voluntary cooperation, climate justice, and ecological living guide me in my journey. I vow to devote myself to these principles and their manifestation in my life and the community I serve.
I call myself a Real Life Superhero because the heroic archetype inspires me and may also inspire those around me. I vow to make a real difference for the better in my community and our world, and I vow to help others who choose to do the same.
