Kryptonite

No matter how untouchable we might believe we are, there will always be something in life—whether we’ve struggled with it eternally or we encounter it unexpectedly—that proves to be our kryptonite. These chinks in our armor are some of the most critically important experiences in the way of growth.  They throw our sense of reality into disarray. They take who we thought we were, however tough we believed ourselves to be, and turn it all upside down, making us question our own power.

The ultimate equalizer--no one is impervious to the trial of suddenly manifested vulnerability, and through such a brutal process, new weaknesses are weeded out and identified and, ideally, decimated. It can be a hellish thing to endure, and nearly as painful for the people who love us, but facing these demons is essential, or we'll never be safe from them.

Kryptonite is a rough-edged soulmate. Through it, we find a different kind of strength, some paramount feat of inner power that we’ve never had to use before and weren’t at all prepared to exercise, but it appears, nonetheless, for better or for worse.  Even if we fail a dozen times before calling up the strength we need, that’s not important—the failures are part of the armor—layers of hard won, iron clad understanding.  It’s the greatest and most agonizing opportunity in the universe.   And somewhere along the line, we will have to find a new sense of power, maybe even practice it over and over until it sticks. Until it becomes the new us. Until our kryponite is nothing more than a stone.