Not Really a How-to...

... Be Vulnerable.

 I guess this is more of a how it might go ... if you let your guard down...

I struggled to decide which pictures could capture the way I am envisioning (or feeling) vulnerable right now. 

Water rushing over rocks, or pooling in temporary safety.  A precariously perched telephone pole stretching over the cliff, gazing at the ocean.  An impending storm threatening to drench the landscape and tourists.

This is how vulnerable FEELS right now:  fear, excitement, danger, release, frustration, uncertainty, hope, and so much more.  The most important thing is that it FEELS like anything; it means I am there, living right there in vulnerability.

So, how did I get there? How did I achieve vulnerability??  Good question, I am not sure I can accurately recreate the steps.  But this occurs to me:

Open like a tender flower, hopeful for rays of sun, and hummingbirds and honeybees.  Worry about the rain: how hard will it fall?  Will my petals withstand it?  Throw caution to the wind. 

Surrender like those Black Eyed Susans dropping their petals suggestively, opening to whatever may come.

It's scary and uncomfortable and terribly thrilling -- and you can imagine Holly Golightly in the background plotting her retreat. 

But hold steady, ready for the deluge and hoping for a shower of love rather than one of destruction. Is it possible to be ready for either? [Yeah, what does *ready* mean? Showing up, I think... it's less than ready, it's more willing...]

And, maybe, in time, you will learn how to enjoy that crazy jumble of anxiety and excitement for its own sake.

You just might learn to tremble with vulnerability, realizing how very alive you are.

Picture credits:  all but flowers are mine with the fancy camera. I swiped the flower photos ... don't have a lens that can capture those yet.