Have you noticed, as I have, that early mornings are quieter these days, with significantly less bird song? Once the nestlings have fledged, perhaps mama and papa have less to say to each other! Or maybe they have already started to migrate somewhere else? Whatever the reason, it’s always a bit bittersweet to have the sweet songs of summer flee so quickly. . .
I hope summer has been as kind to each of you as it has been to me. I know that for you northerners, the weather has been a challenge, to say the least! Here in North Carolina, we’ve finally had some decent rain, and the temperatures, while hot, have not been as blistering as some summers.
Ever since my trip out west to see Renee Locks (to collaborate on Womansong progress) The book Sacred Commerce- Business as a Path of Awakening has been sitting on my desk to remind me that I want to share a thought therein with you.
I was intrigued by the book because I had lunch in the cafe of the founders, and wanted to know how they tied their personal and spiritual outlooks to the way they do business.
The first “grabber” for me was this sentence: “Being humble enough to be vulnerable opened me up to a whole new version of me.” Hmmm.
I hadn’t ever consciously put the words “humble” and “vulnerable” in one sentence before. I have been aware that when we mask our vulnerability, we deny others the chance to see us as fully human, but I had not thought equated this masking with lack of humility. This puts a whole new face on self-disclosure.
I’m not suggesting that we “bare all,” continuously. But I think when I’m hurting, or sad, or unsure, or struggling, pretending that I’m fine is hubris. Pride. Lack of humility. No one is served by this – me, because I am not being real. The people who I’m interacting with, because I am denying them the chance to relate to me. I put forth an impervious image, and guess what – no one, after awhile, will even want to permeate that shell, because I will seem unreal, unreachable, un-needing of them. If I think about it, we all want to feel needed, useful. So sharing our vulnerability is a win-win way of connecting. I feel less vulnerable the minute I share my heartaches, you, the listener, feel graced by the sharing, and secretly (or not so secretly) glad that others have just as many doubts and heartaches as you do.
For me, September is always a beginning of a new year. (Must be the old teacher in me.) I’m not exactly a “resolution” kind of gal, but now and again, I set my sights on little course corrections. The connection of
“humility and vulnerability” seems like a perfect thing to concentrate on in a “new year,” a beautiful way to underscore our common humanity and reach out to others.
Enjoy the waning days of summer, wherever they take you, whatever you are doing.
Act2Life coaching 
ouch really hits home with me. Each day sometimes a struggle to be smiley
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