Vulnerability is not weakness. It is our strength.
This morning, my little dog went missing while walking the beach early in the predawn light. I was walking alone, which was unusual. She had lost her dog tag a week before with her name and my number. Everything about the morning was unusual.
On top of all the chaos, the suffering, the uncertainty, was this.
It was, for a moment, too much to bear. All the pieces of me, my being a mother, lover, partner entrepreneur, friend, business steward, responsible dog owner, and citizen…. were very close to shattering into the sand.
She was found, but not before I had galvanised a search party and called for help.
Right now, she is doing her thing of seducing people for a tummy rub outside our coffee shop, where, for now, there are no chairs, no places to linger.
And I gather all of the pieces of me back together. And take a deep breath. The ocean is there, steady as always. The sun rose, again, so reliable. Nature’s beauty is everywhere, a constancy.
This is how we do it. One step, one moment, one day at a time. And when we fall, or stumble, to reach out, ask for help, fall into the arms of our own vulnerability. Not in shame but in the deep acknowledgement of our humanity, our humanness.
Not alone. Never separate. A collective breakdown.
We need each other.
We need each other.
Reach out. Ask. Be there.
Vulnerability is not weakness. It is our strength. It is the reminder of the soft underbelly of our being, the access point to compassion, love, kindness.
March 23rd 2020
Photo taken March 23rd, 2020