Vulnerability and Worthiness

What. An Amazing. Last couple of days.

Last night, I spent an evening with 3 other lovely young women eating fresh, nutritious food, drinking inexpensive wine, and sharing our souls!

I cannot tell you the last time I felt THAT connected to several people for that long of a period - almost 5 hours!  The energy that flowed amongst the four of us reminded us all (at the same time!) of 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants', or 'Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood'!!!

Picking up CO from her house was the first awesome piece - she can make anyone feel welcome and worthy!  Just walking into VS's (the host's) home was warm and inviting.  And KS was just as smiley and genuine as the first time I met her!  Two of the gals had arranged the food and prepped the meal.  While it was cooking, CO strummed the guitar and sang (fantastically) and we all just talked about what came to mind.  What is really fascinating about our conversations is that they were all MEANINGFUL.  Not one of them was pretentious or conceited.  It was all heartfelt and vulnerable and honest.  What an amazing experience to be a part of; sometimes I feel like a free spirit trapped in a socialized, institutionalized body, unable to act or say how I feel for fear of reprecussions. 

When I moved to Florida, I decided that I wanted to be less tied down by fears and the struggle to fit it - I want to say what I mean when I mean it and not feel bad about it (of course, being considerate of others).  I want to be comfortable with who I am right now (knowing that I will continue to learn and grow, and will be okay with that too!). I explained a little bit to a couple of friends (whom I connected with almost immediately upon meeting) that I feel social anxiety even with people I know and trust; it gets worse in the evenings.

Not to dwell on the negative!  Being part of this group of young women last night made me realize (again) that there are others like me who are passionate about caring and kindness toward others - not just about the bottom line, the $$ made, or how status will be affected.  These 3 ladies had such open, passionate spirits and we all felt so connected so often that we would all get goosebumps - this happened probably 10 times AT LEAST!  We spoke about our schooling, our dreams, all of us working with holistic health and health education/promotion.  We discussed energy, connection, medicine, nutritious food - a whole bunch of topics - and it was so refreshing to be with people that understand my passion and don't think I'm nuts :-)

VS told us about a video to watch that portrays a presenter with a message about vulnerability and worthiness.  I just watched it (I wanted to watch before I posted today) and I was astounded.  I don't know why - it makes so much sense!  Anyway, take a look:  The Power of Vulnerability


Then - after last night's splendid evening, I drove to meet my friend Ang for breakfast and coffee this morning and to spend some time chitchatting while perusing the Waldo Flea Market.  Now, the flea market is a story in itself, but what meant the most about this morning's several hours is the CONNECTION with a trustworthy and meaningful friend.  I was stoked to hear Brene Brown's view on the importance of connection in the Vulnerability presentation.


I have to be done - this is a long post, already!  I may come back to this topic later, but I really need to take a nap before TriGator supper tonight :-)