Risking the Wound.
Are you willing to risk being wounded?
It seems that everything in life demands that we play it safe but playing it safe doesn’t always lead us to the life that we want to live. We want to be liked, accepted, and received. Rarely do we want to be rejected and disliked, so we play it safe. Our fears almost demand that we play it safe. Playing it safe does not allow us to engage in the game of life, to live what is in our souls. Playing it safe, while not always bad, is a form of control.
To seek and search the depths of our souls for the real life that breathes in the depths of our being requires that I may risk giving up my life in order to truly encounter life-- to live. It doesn’t necessarily means that I expose my naked soul to you--but it could and it may.
To live I may need to get naked.
In a small group that I am a participant, the topic of vulnerability arose. Many folks were talking about being vulnerable and I quickly got the impression that their definition and my definition are different.
They were talking about being insecure.
I was talking about facing my insecurities and entering in to vulnerability where I risk the wound.
For me, to be vulnerable means to risk being wounded.
It can take tremendous courage to be vulnerable.
It doesn’t mean that I am fearless or not insecure it means that I do not allow my fears or insecurities to prevent me from doing what I am called to do. Doing what I am called to do or going where I felt led to go requires that I risk the potential of things not working out and requires that I “risk being wounded.” And if we spend our lives avoiding the potential wounds by placating systems, people, authority and security we will never truly live.
Madeleine L’Engle said, “When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable.
I want to be alive, not dominated by my fears.
11 Comments:
Is there a line between being vunerable and wallowing in the past. I admit, I do not want to open myself up in a lot of ways but I also struggle with putting the past behind me to "press-on".
What a great post, Rick. Thanks for the reminder that playing it safe won't lead me to the type of life that I know would be the most fulfilling.
I really love the way you said this, Rick.
In it's ultimate (even Christlike) expression, being vulnerable means that I'm willing to trust God for the outcome of my vulnerable moments, rather than merely hoping the other person won't hurt me.
We're every bit as vulnerable when we trust God with our risk. We may still get hurt. But that risk - and the hurt that may accrue - is placed in the context of His purpose, placed in His hand.
And you're right, it's never 'safe' to answer a calling, but fear is such a rough god to serve instead, isn't it?
I saw the movie "Jarhead" over this past weekend, and a quote in there stood out: during a firefight, the Marine was ordered to run fifty yards to get a battery for a communication device. There was heavy sniper fire all around him, and he asked his Drill Sargeant: "How am I supposed to get over there?"
The Drill Sargeant answered: "Don't die along the way."
And so it is. You have a goal, the path ain't safe, but you have to get there, wounded or not. ;)
Great post.
I want to be alive, not dominated by my fears.
me too
but today I'm struggling
prayers appreciated! Tx
Any woman who has become pregnant after losing a child knows exactly of what you speak.
Rick, I love what you are saying here and I agree with your definition of being vulnerable. I am naturally that way and I have been hurt in the process of sharing my naked soul.
I like what you said in the first part too, about encountering life without fear...without playing it safe. That's where I lack big time...I have fears of losing what I have, yet what I is not what I want.
Hope that made sense.
Bless you!
To me, the best definition of love is to put all others above ourselves. If we do that, we will surely be wounded. The greatest thing we can do in life is to die for our friends. Wounds come before death.
Me too.
please forgive me for my past badness. i have devoured myself with sadness over the things i said.
This topic of fears, vulnerability, and risk is so fruitful. Yesterday at my Quaker Meeting, this was our discussion topic. Some people wallow in their fears, some call them concerns, and can't easily identify their own fears - but control is very important! Some begrudge others for instigating fear.
I really like what Madeleine L'Engle said about the maturity of vulnerability. So true. To risk, to become vulnerable, is like opening a door to the possible. It isn't always safe, it isn't always comfortable, but it is real. This doesn't mean we stop living skillfully, but rather we live more freely. Fears imprision us.
Here is a sweet poem about fears:
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry
***
Thank you dear Friend.
Post a Comment
<< Home