The Courage of Vulnerability

What courage it takes to bear one’s most private and intimate experiences.

Some speak of the partner they grieve.

Others, of the intimacy they crave.

And some share the quiet weight of addiction.

When I hear these stories, I notice a common thread,

the imprint on the body,

the emotional toll carried within.

How they lean toward the partner who is no longer in physical form,

and feel the ache of that absence.

How they long to hold the hand of someone not yet found.

Or the emptiness felt when they ingest the substance,

something that fills them superficially,

both physically and emotionally.

What can I say?

What can I offer?

What will truly help?

As we move through breath, reach, posture, perhaps even gesture,

I remain present to witness.

Witness their becoming,

their unraveling,

their learning.

They begin to understand themselves,

what their body is saying,

how it speaks,

how it feels.

A language, new to them.

It can be disorienting to learn something unfamiliar,

but to learn oneself

can be the most centering experience of all.

I am grateful to those who have shared,

who have moved,

and who have allowed me to witness.

Thank you.