Superman was a powerful superhero. He had the strength of thousands of men and could fly through the skies with ease. He could bend steel, walk through fire, and withstand bitter cold and treacherous winds. He also could use his powerful vision and eyes to protect himself and others from danger. Superman was a “Bad Man.”
Despite his amazing powers, Superman was also susceptible to failure. His wonderful gifts although incomparable and strong, could be conquered if he was exposed to kryptonite. Kryptonite were pieces of rock and debris from Superman’s home planet. The planet had been destroyed and he lost his parents when the planet was destroyed. The ironic thing is that pieces of what made up Superman’s home would typically get him in trouble and sometimes end up in his near death. The place where he got his superpowers from his parent/s, Krypton, was also the thing that would bring him down, Kryptonite.
We all have superpowers. Some of us display them with our family, in our community, at our jobs and through many aspects of our life. You should ask yourself what is your superpower?
One of my superpowers is being an empath. An empath is someone who experiences other peoples’ emotions and energy as if it were their own. Empaths tend to feel the pain or joy of others because of their empathy. Empaths have high emotions and sensitivity towards what is happening to others around them. This superpower can help people make good decisions that are truly impactful for others because you are able to know their experiences and emotions of those you are making the decisions for or more importantly with. You also understand the emotions they may experience because of those decisions. This can be a great superpower for good. It can also be my Kryptonite.
The empath’s kryptonite, my kryptonite, is feeling the emotions and sensitivities of those I have been designed to help. Being an empath is knowing that you always put others needs and desires above your own, but at times you will feel the pain of those you are trying desperately to be there for. The pain of the empathic kryptonite shows up in many ways.
The empath can feel the hurt and pain of a child, his child, who battles sickle cell crisis that cause severe pain, hospitalization, high use of pain meds, psychological trauma and the sadness of wanting to be at home instead of a hospital;
The empath can feel the hurt, pain, and sadness of a loved one, his loved one, who is diagnosed with a treatable but incurable disease that can lead to the deterioration of health and possibly end of life. The empath feels the hope of what could be, but also the sadness of missing what has been.
The empath can feel the hurt of an accident in which he is involved at a high speed on a busy highway. The pain may not be his physical pain, but instead is the pain of what could have been if his vehicle and his body was harmed like the the vehicle that rammed into the back of him at a high rate of speed. The empath can also feel the pain of the loss of life that could have been if he would have been injured or had a loss of life causing his daughter to lose two parents tragically in a year’s time. The empath feels the loss of what could have been, but for the grace of God.
The empath feels the grief caused by the death of others more than anything. We all experience grief and loss differently. No one’s grief is more important than another’s. My grief as an empath caused by losing those close to me and influential in my personal growth and development hits different. With each loss a pice of me, my superpower, leaves my body and is replaced with kryptonite.
Your superpower at times may be your kryptonite. It will be there for others and save many, while at the same time feeling like it is tearing away at your heart and soul. It does not mean that you abandon your power, instead it means that you may have to supplement that power with the supernatural power of prayer. You may need to take that power to your knees and humble yourself and turn from your wicked ways and seek HIS face. That face and that spirit may defeat that kryptonite and save the lives you care about most.
JB
