Where Are We in Vulnerability?
"Nothing truly human is abhorrent to me." ~Latin poet-Terence~
Vulnerability. It’s a word that struck a chord with me this week. I am often afraid to admit any form of it, as we all are. In the words of Father Richard Rohr, a spiritual Franciscan priest “When humans try to deny vulnerability, even from themselves, when they cannot admit weakness, neediness, hurt, pain, suffering, sadness, they become very inhuman and not very attractive. They don’t change you. They don’t invite you.”
I taught vulnerability in a very physical form, this week, in my yoga classes; handstands. We see them all over social media right now, but when it came down to it, I just couldn’t admit to my upper body frailty. It manifests itself in so many different ways in my life, the obvious being physical.
I encouraged my students to be in the presence of their physical vulnerability, and let it mentally transform into being a truly honest and affected person off the mat.
Because as Father Rohr states, “That’s the way we are meant to be in the presence of one another.”
Sidenote: yes, that is a building blocks wagon behind me! Another thing I feel vulnerable to; my house is never in ANY kind of order. From my thoughts, to my physical appearance, I've succumb to the fact that it will never look conventionally pretty. And it's all good. However, we choose to embrace or cover up our vulnerability is an individual path.
