As the story has it, there was this boy named Clark who came to live in Kansas. His family was a simple family -nice enough- with food on the table and love in their hearts. Clark loved them, they loved him and all was well.
Yet…
Clark had a yearning…something in his heart that wouldn’t stop. It was a burning desire to help those in distress and, ironically, a talent for succeeding at it.
So, as the story goes, Clark bravely and unabashedly threw his doubts and fears to the side! He donned his red cape (what would he be without it?) and used his god-given gift to save the world!
Yet Clark had one weakness…the ultimate destroyer of his power…
(Some would say Lois Lane but that’s another side of the story).
No, Clark’s true ‘killer of strength’ was kryptonite, a potent radioactive element found on his home planet of Krypton. It was the only thing that could take him down. So he avoided it at all costs! Yet those who wished to keep him from his greatness put it in his path regularly.
Wow. Awesome story.
Fast forward. Twenty-first century. You’re living a quiet life in small town USA. Nothing much special going on – stable life, love and being loved yet there is a yearning in your heart.
There is a passion stirring in your soul to do something…something that takes you beyond your own backyard…something that makes you feel alive…something that takes your god-given gifts soaring to new heights…something that makes you, well…want to fly!
And you think….no way. Could I? Could I really fly?
Now if you’re superman you grab that red cape and you give ‘er a whirl! If you’re you, well…you could opt for the cape but maybe it’s a pen or a camera or your voice, an idea or a hug.
Maybe your red cape is passing along a blue marble…or passing out some shoes. After all, Superman was as happy rescuing a kitten from a tree as he was leaping buildings in a single bound.
Fact is – whatever it may be, your red cape transforms you.
It makes you feel like you could leap tall buildings in a single bound. It makes you feel confident and capable, invincible and inspired. Hec…it makes you feel like you could save the world, get the girl and rescue the kitten –all at the same time.
Yet there is something that will stop you….
Yep. Your 21st Century world has kryptonite too. And it will K.I.L.L. you. It’s the one thing that will clip your wings, cut your cape or throw you to the ground. It is your weakness and it simply makes you weak.
And – bad news here – it usually comes from your home planet (aka: family of origin).
Sorry. Sad but true.
The thing most likely to take you down showed up early in the game and it is the one thing you cannot fight. Abuse, addiction, overeating, narcissism, abandonment, hypochondria…the list goes on (and on and on).
The point is, in the presence of it, you die…little by little, or in one fell swoop, you die to who you are or, worse yet, never get to live the YOU that you were destined to become.
It’s awful. Just awful. That kryptonite stuff is lethal and it wants you –bad.
So your job–when you want to live a life of meaning…of passion…of daring adventure– is to find out where your kryptonite hides and how it shows up.
To find out what is that one thing in life that can truly take you down and keep you from your greatness.
And then you have to kick it to the curb and get that cape!
Then- and only then – can you save the planet, rescue a damsel in distress, or pluck a kitten from a tree. Only then can you rise to who you are and soar to new heights…only then can you fly.
And if you are to really live…you just have to fly.
And when you are flying there is no mistake – no bird, no plane –
just you.
Living like superman.
Unthink this: What will it take for you to fly?