Vulnerability

 As I have been watching the news stories about the devastation in Japan I have cycled though a myriad of reactions and emotions, worry, shame, anger, terror, frustration, relief, you name it. Tragedies bestow the gift of reminding us of the nature of impermanence, the edges of our existence, and our very vulnerability. Which got me thinking.....
Embracing our vulnerability in our modern society is often not encouraged, taught, or accepted. Why is that? And what are the repercussions of this fact?

I know I share in this collective virus of  perceived invulnerability with my own disguise of "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I got things under control." We all hide behind our chosen masks (intelligence, perfection, toughness, victim, competence -take your pick) hiding what we fear we lack in ourselves. Perhaps, hoping that if we can convince the world of our blemish free armor we might convince ourselves. Yet like a simmering pot of falsehood we feel the undercurrent of anxiety and we wonder what it is. We find ourselves looking for joy in the world of ten thousand things. We find ourselves thinking the worst at the precise moment we are filled with peace. We seek to numb ourselves from this feeling of not knowing, of fear, of insecurity. Maybe we lose ourselves in work, or food, or alcohol, or drugs (prescribed or otherwise), or shopping, or being taken care of, or gambling, or being busy, or being ill, as we try to bury our vulnerability deeper under our distractions. Yet we feel lost, confused, detached, frustrated, lethargic, maybe bored...because we are...

The consequences of numbing are such that we cannot numb selectively. When we numb what we fear we also numb what we love and we forget that the extraordinary life moments are found in the vulnerability of the ordinary ones. 

Today I want to share with you a informative and inspiring link that someone wise shared with me (thanks Tracy!) about these very ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UoMXF73j0c&feature=player_

"As earthly creatures continually subject to relative disappointment, pain, and loss, we cannot avoid feeling vulnerable.  Yet as an open channel through which great love enters this world, the human heart remains invincible.  Being wholly and genuinely human means standing firmly planted in both dimensions, celebrating that we are both vulnerable and indestructible at the same time.  Here at this crossroads where yes and no, limitless love and human limitation, intersect, we discover the essential human calling:  progressively unveiling the sun in our heart, that it may embrace the whole of ourselves and the whole of creation within the sphere of its radiant warmth."

John Welwood

The cracked pot

As you may have noticed I have taken a bit of a rest from my blog the last few weeks. One reason being that as the weather warms up I find my hands wanting to be in my garden planting seeds rather than touching my key board. Another, is I am in the process of writing another e-course, a daunting and inspiring task. More to come on this soon. Suffice to say I have had less time for writing here.


So, for the time being as I am forever seeking more positive and enlightening books, teachings, and practices. I still plan to share with you what I find along the way when I feel inspired to. Some posts maybe long, some short, some my words, some borrowed. 


Right now, I am enthralled in the emerging color of this time of year, the subtleties, hues, and brightness. I am reminded that it is the contrast between the very gray of winter that allows the brilliance of spring to explode the senses.  I am reminded that after the darkest night there is a radiance sunrise and after a wicked storm the deepest calm. Both sides create the balance of wholeness. Just as it takes a spectrum of color to create a beautiful garden, so goes the tapestry of our lives. We all have had good times and not so good times, light and shadow, despair and joy. We grow older and we learn more. Ever remembering, that in the garden such is this life, it is the whole of it that is what creates beauty, not the parts. Oftentimes, it is our very imperfections and flaws that make life meaningful, that take us to places we would never go on our own, that split us open to new ways of being. It is through our cracks that the light within has the ability to shine through and where the most brilliant of flowers can grow. Today a story as we celebrate the springtime of who we are.


"The cracked pot"


A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each
end of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was
perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end
of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the
cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full 2 years this went on daily, with the bearer
delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's
house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments,
perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what
it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure,
it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only
half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak
out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws,
you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value
from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his
compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want
you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice
of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the
path and this cheered it some. But at the end of tile trail, it
still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so
again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were
flowers only on YOUR side of your path, but not on the other
pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw,
and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side
of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream,
you've watered them.

For 2 years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers
to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way
you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

(c)2002 www.club-positif.com