Vulnerability

A few weeks ago, I went to Kripalu for a workshop with Maria Sirois entitled “Finding Happiness in Difficult Times.” She is a positive psychologist, and she doled out various tips and tidbits to carry yourself through life in general, particularly when it gets challenging. One of the things that she said that really stuck with me was to give yourself permission to be human. Wow. This is a huge one for those of us who she called “recovering perfectionists.” This means, it is OK to be tired, to make mistakes, to be messy and imperfect, etc.

Then, last week, in a shaman session with a colleague, she suggested that I allow myself to explore my vulnerability.

As I thought about these, I realized that they are really the same thing, and, coming from two different sources, clearly something to consider.

One of the tricky things about being in the healing profession and also writing a blog that hopes to be inspirational is that you want to be uplifting, to say, “ah, look how much I have my act together.” Reflecting with another shaman, I also realized that there is a lot of pressure in being a keeper of the Earth at this time of such upheaval. There is so much to do and it seems like time is short. So, permission to be human, to be just one person in a sea of people working for positive change is essential.

I am fortunate that most of the time, I see the world from the perspective of the eagle - flying high, seeing the higher perspective, trusting the divine plan and seeing the light in everything. More recently, it is more like I am on the ground, looking up, knowing that I have been up there before and trusting that the lift will return. While I don’t love it, the view from down here looking up has to be enough.

Copyright 2023 Nancy C Murray

Nancy C Murray is a practitioner of shamanic energy medicine, Reiki master, and spiritual leader. She leads public and private yoga classes and healing sessions, transformational courses, and also retreats and spiritual journeys.