Our personal security is never guaranteed. Things happen. The fact is we are vulnerable to the uncertainties that arise around the next corner. How we approach this vulnerability makes all of the difference in the world.
We can blissfully deny this fragility of human life in sleep like fashion, whiling away our time as if each moment did not matter. Conversely, we can whistle in the dark attempting to scare away the demons that reside in what we hope are the far off places believing there are things we do that could make a difference. Ultimately, we can not make a difference in our personal security because we were born into this state of vulnerability.
We can be scared out of our wits in the not knowing, or worse, in what we think we do know. The hammer can drop at any time, and when we are honest, we can acknowledge it will drop. Ah, but don’t despair, in fact cheer up. Its all quite beautiful!
It’s our time to be alive. In all of the rolls of human history, past and future, there’s never been a you, and your time is now. All of us alive today are in it together. It’s our time. How perfectly wonderful, as in full of wonder and amazement. It’s not a time for complacency. Again, it’s OUR time! We are kindred spirits you and I by virtue of being alive right now. We owe each other respect, kindness, and we should lift each up as we navigate the travails and sufferings of life. As an old musician of my era once said, “we know it is not easy.”
The question of the maturing person is really about finding a route into our vulnerability and embracing it. This requires courage of the highest magnitude, wobbly knees and all. What do we find there when we say “yes” to this moment? Peace, serenity are unexpected surprises as you show up, but you have to see it for yourself, and you will, as you become less inclined to run.
Why Peace? I don’t fully know. I do know that this moment is fully trustworthy as it unfolds but it is a lesson that has to repeat itself over and over again. We never quite want to believe it and our tendency is to trust no one, even life itself. Stay with it, stay curious, observe what happens when you give yourself to the vulnerability of being you. Try it as an experiment. You are like a mountain that endures wind and hail, snow and ice, and yet still stands. Excuse the colorful metaphor but the image is true.
Remember, we are not in it alone. Don’t let the superficiality and glibness of the day distract you from what is true. This identical theme plays out in everyone’s life as we grapple to embrace the inherent sweetness of life. How could what we know to be true about the sweetness of life possibly be true? Our woundedness keeps us from trusting, and yet that’s the path.