"We are powerful beyond measure, and so deeply vulnerable at the same time. This may seem like a dichotomy, but it isn't. We have misunderstood real power. It has been seen as a force that is assertive, non-surrendering, pushing on through. This is not real power. This is simply willfulness. Real power is something else: receptivity, vulnerability, the courage to keep your heart open on the darkest of days, the strength to feel it all even when the odds are stacked against you. Real power is showing up with your heart on your sleeve and absolutely refusing to waste one moment of your life hidden behind edginess and armor. The art of enheartened presence. Now that's power."
- Jeff Brown
For me, being powerful is being real and honest in whatever is occurring in the moment. How often are we asked "how are you" and the instant reply is "good thanks" all the while wearing an armour on behalf of defending the heart. Today I inquire into my own misunderstandings around power and vulnerability and how one does not actually exist without the other. Today my heart is open, in particular around the grief of losing my Dad. This denying of being vulnerable wakes me from sleep and today rather than push through I opened my heart to the pain, got up out of bed and sat reflecting on him, the shear loss of his presence in my day to day life and everything else that goes with grief. It was very much the art of enheartened presence and I am grateful for it.
How receptive are you to vulnerability?
Can you keep your heart open even in the darkest of days?
What is the pushing through and non-surrender on behalf of for you?
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