But I wasn't alone. The Three and One had me in their sights even then... and they showed me a secret. There exists a place within a person, usually hidden and buried beneath layers and layers of responsibilities and duties and worries and other such dross. And in times of unbearable privation, when one is broken down so far, so deeply flayed with blight and torment that they can scarce remember their own name... a place that can only be reached once all hope of pretense is lost, when one is; like a piece of coal crushed in indescribable pressure and heat, formed into a blazing diamond of pure will.

I have felt this sooooo many times, and I often say that my survival mode is where so much of my personal power comes from. There's something about being pushed to your every edge, to the brink of devastation, when you are hanging on by nothing but pure unadulterated force of will. One of my favorite quotes is by Pema Chodron where she says, "Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found."
In a sense this is a reflection of my life, where pressure creates gemstones as time goes on, and flowers bloom through concrete, and our greatest pain is also our greatest weapon, our deepest shames our greatest teachers. I am glad you find that place of gratitude, for courage and incredible self love is also found there. ❤️🙏 ...and I do believe she also is describing your Kingdom of Butterflies. It's a place I also know well, though by perhaps a different name.

Xx ToL