Crucible Hope

1) A ceramic or metal container in which metal or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.

That is one definition of the word "crucible."

2) A place or occasion of severe test or trial.

That's another.

Sometimes human beings are thrown into crucible-like situations. A crucible-like situation is defined as one that shreds the skin off your bones, separates muscle from tendon, rips your heart out, destroys your soul, and robs you of eyesight leaving you with only hindsight.

You just never know what you are walking into and once there, very often you are trapped. Or as U2 put it "You're stuck in a moment, and you can't get out of it."

It's bewildering because you are only trying to live a life. The #1 goal is to minimize turbulence. That's about as good as it gets for most of us.

With a little luck you can eke out an existence without having your skull cracked wide open. That's a pretty good life.

But if you stray off the path just a little, if you can't read the vibe, if you unwittingly make a wrong move, life is right there with a boot to the neck.

No leeway. And no quick exit.

Its an odd thing because nobody ever really explains this to you. Nobody tells you that life is slow to reward but quick to punish. And the punishments last longer and are infinitely more intense than the rewards.

"Nobody ever told me there'd be days like these; strange days indeed." John Lennon

It's an odd thing because very often you make a decision that you think is going to improve your life and it ends up crushing you.

It is assumed that character formed in a crucible is stronger. More pure. This is the only hope if you feel the heat blasting up.

If you can hang on, if you can survive, you will be changed.

The situation might destroy you, the situation might make you.

Crucible hope. The most desperate kind.