Lesson 2: “Embrace the art of vulnerability as a spiritual practice. Letting yourself be vulnerable gives you the strength to take risks and follow your heart.”

Yesterday I had an hour of memorable vulnerability. I’d been physically exhausted from overtraining, sore all over, mentally exhausted from using my brain all day, and coming down with some sort of cold. I was fresh off battlefield. Peculiarly, friends of mine, who have no connection with each other, had been raving about a miracle which had recently helped them relieve the stresses of their lives.  As if the voices of fate weren’t loud enough, my father had a coupon for a test trial.

I wasn’t too fond of the idea to be honest. The image putting your face into this head rest with a big hole in the middle of it while a big man with large gripping hands rubs oil all over your completely exposed and war torn body whilst proceeding with assorted ancient feel good techniques did not seem that inviting to me. It’s walking to your funeral really. You’re wounded, vulnerable, and unable to defend yourself. Now you very intelligently, too exhausted to think of any consequences, imprudently stroll into this big strong man’s domain, his kingdom, his arena, his dominion, his EMPIRE of pleasant smelling aromas and exotic decorations, lie face down, and allow him to proceed doing who knows what with you.  It’s like the wounded Beast lying on Gaston’s doorstep asking him to rub antibiotics on his fresh wounds.  He could just shove his thumb a bit far, a bit too fast into your trapezius and snap it, and then bury you to hide the evidence. Or he could heat that towel a bit too hot, grab you by your hair, and smother it all over until you melt. Or he could be giving you the best massage you’ve ever had, starting up high rubbing the shoulder blades down the oiled middle back with both hands, rubbing the lats, wrapping both hands around rib cage using the thumbs slowly making his way down your spine till it reaches your lower back…  

“How’s the pressure?”

“Eh, take a little off it please.”

“NO.”

CRACK! He crushes your spine between his fingers and uses your various parts of your body as secret ingredients for his new body oil and perfume line.

I’m kidding. The first massage I’d ever received was wonderful. I felt like I had a new pair of legs and I might even learn Tai Chi now. I even learned more about my own sport on that day. That is, that many of us as athletes underestimate the importance of flexibility! Long story short, I’ve learned the need stretch more. When it comes to vulnerability, I find it’s a must, especially for many of the finer things in life we all wish for in the deepest depth of our souls. Could it hurt? Yes. Does it involve emotional attachment and trust? Probably. What about the potential of looking like an absolute fool? Yes. The remedy? Warm up and stretch, for “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.”

jcagon

  
Posted by Sharon K. Sobotta at 6/20/2010 11:52 PM
Categories: uncategorized
 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this post
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)
Page: 1 of 5
Page: 1 of 5
Leave a comment

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.