Kryptonite.
I’d be surprised if your next thought wasn’t, “Superman”.
You’d think it to be a bit counterintuitive that pretty much everyone knows what can bring down the superest of super heroes. But, nope. It’s out there. It has been forever. I don’t think he ever actually kept it much to himself, either. And, in fact, I think he even told Lois Lane that he can’t see through lead, which she told everyone about in a newspaper article, which led Lex Luther to keeping his Kryponite in a lead box. Seems like guy can’t keep a secret to save his life. Literally.
It’s interesting, though, isn’t it? To share that about oneself. A weakness. The biggest weakness you have, no less. That kinda makes not much sense. Especially if you’re trying to protect humankind.
And yet, he’s still Superman. Still keeping the Earth safe. Still pretty indestructible.
When you spend a minute to think about it, it’s interesting, still; knowing Superman’s weakness. Two reasons, really – one: it enables people to know how to destroy him; two: it enables people to know how to save him.
When we’ve known our vulnerability only to ourselves, we can often only conjure up thoughts of how it can be used to harm us. To bring us down. To make us even weaker. When we’re so close to something, and the feeling and impact it has on us, it’s difficult to create a differing experience. One we’re not used to. And so, it doesn’t readily translate that our weakness should be known. It’s better protected, sheltered away from those that can use it recklessly.
What makes us vulnerable only shapes us into something bigger when it’s shared.
Otherwise, it’s simply a burden to carry that will never feel lighter; not with neglect, not with time, not with some other power we possess. Strength is built from vulnerability when it is acknowledged, embraced, shared and accepted. That’s when an experience, other than just our own, can be presented to us. A shared experience that challenges the only one we may have ever known. You don’t know what you don’t know. Yet, part of the human condition is thinking that we do know. We do not. Not always.
Vulnerability, offered in the right space, with the right intention, to the right people, creates strength. It trusts that weakness won’t be used to destroy, but to create. To create a safe place of welcoming compassion and understanding. To present a perspective that opposes the destructive nature we can fall victim to when left to our own self-judgement and self-deprecation. To invalidate that weakness is weakness and to support that weakness exposed builds strength.
What makes us vulnerable only shapes us into something bigger when it’s shared.
Not everyone needs to know what your Kryponite is. But, if no one knows, who can be there to help you?
Be Love.
