Vulnerable

Vulnerable.  It's a feeling that we in this culture don't want to feel.  It's an emotion I am currently feeling, and I feel uncomfortable.  Vulnerability is something we don't like.  It goes against what we have been taught.  We are from a culture of competence, strength, accomplishment, and we are good at hiding weakness.

And yet...in my journey on this planet I have had numerous experiences of being vulnerable--of having and expressing vulnerable feelings.  And I lived through each one.  I even thrived.  I learned that when I acknowledged and expressed my vulnerable feelings, I experienced connection.  Even though it wasn't easy, I became stronger.  Vulnerability is a strength of authenticity.  It is a connection to our own spark, and to the spark of others.  It has led to great shifts and changes in my life that would not have been possible otherwise.

So, if you notice that you are having vulnerable feelings, sit with them for a while.  Hold them in your arms.  Show them some love, and listen to see if they have a message for you.  Let vulnerability live in your heart.  It will bring amazing Love and change to your Life.   Wishing you peace and blessings.

"Vulnerability -- the last thing I want you to see in me, and the first thing I look for in you."

                   --Brene Brown

"Vulnerability is terrifying.  The courage it takes to reveal your heart is one of the most daunting...and yet rewarding experiences in life.  It will set you free."

                   --The Better Man Project

     

All is Well

Is that for real?  Can it be true that all is well as we are surrounded with chaos in the world?  These disturbances don't feel like wellness.  And yet, deep in my heart, and in the grand scheme of things, I know that all is well and it will just get better.  

Years ago I did some personal inward exploration by working with Animal Medicine and with the spiritual essence that different animals possess.  I found a connection with one animal in particular.  Strangely enough, it was the Horseshoe Crab.  The horseshoe crab has a body that looks like a shield.  This physical adaptation provides strong external protection while soft body parts are hidden underneath.  This animal knows how to survive.  It is considered to be a "living fossil," originating 250 million years ago, according to Wikipedia.  Similar looking fossils have been found that date back to 445 million years ago, long before the age of dinosaurs.  Amazingly, they are still alive in our world today.  Horseshoe crabs have adapted to be able to live both in water and on land.  They scoot along close to the sand and remain fairly unaffected by outside changes.  Consistent with today's imbalance, human impact has currently depleted their numbers.  Still, all is well.

I know this because I have experienced this Truth for myself.  I was strengthened and affirmed in my own life by integrating the Spirit of Horseshoe Crab as I worked with that animal wisdom.  Also, after many years of watching the twists and turns of my own life, I have healed, grown, and learned to Trust that my life is well-cared for by an Infinite Source that I embody, and that is also Larger than myself.  I have Trust that this benevolent energy is at work in my life and in the world as we change.  Creator Energy is assisting us as we scoot along, well-protected.  And as we roll through these waves of change we must each follow the path that leads to our own version of Peace, Constancy, and Stability.  Large Love is helping us always.

"Your first task is to find the place where your soul is at home."

                  --Thomas Moore

"The blessings for which we hunger are not to be found in other places or people.  These gifts can only be given to you by yourself.  They are at home at the hearth of your soul."

                  --John O'Donohue    

 

  

Growing Pains

There are challenging energies in our world currently that are hard at work trying to suppress, oppress, control, and eradicate.  This aggressive lashing out is the ailing symptom of a long-buried wound and lack of awareness that have long been in place in our humanity.  It is an anti-life energy because it has been allowed to stay covered and to devolve into deep infection and ill health.  These ailing energies are struggling.  They are on their way out.  They are sounding loudly because they have been brought to the surface and revealed for what they are.  There is nowhere for them to go but away.  They are desperate because their power is waning, and they are in full-on expressive fear mode.  Now is the time to remain calm and neutral about these events, and to even have compassion as these energies burn themselves out.  The wound has been lanced, the infection is working its way out, and it will eventually be fully released.  This release process is resulting in some very intense things happening on our planet right now.

As disturbing as this all appears to be, it is not the ultimate Truth.  This too shall pass.  After the lanced wound has been cleared, the healing and rebuilding process will come forward.  In fact, there are already signs of energy being poured into creative solutions for problems we presently encounter.  This creative energy is pro-life.  It is the same life force energy that prompts green leaves and flowers to come to life in the springtime, or after a fire, drought, or other catastrophe.  This time of intensity will not last.  Even at this present time many courageous people are nurturing a heart-centered and loving energy, and they are offering positive alternatives that bring a counterbalance to the current challenges on our planet.  There is so much good happening now if we take the time to shift our focus, see it, and honor it.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

                   --Helen Keller

"To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear."

                   --Stephen Levine