YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE STRONG ALL THE TIME
“Real
dishes break. That’s how you know they are real.”
Marty
Rubin
Some
of my most powerful experiences have sprung from my most vulnerable moments.
Just as I feel love in my
bosoms when the walls around my heart collapse…
Just as I feel the touch
of God’s hand when I go on my knees…
Just as I feel the
freedom in my soul when I say ‘I forgive you’…
Just as I feel cleansed
when I say ‘I am sorry’…
Just as I feel happiest, noblest and strongest when I say ‘I need help.”
I am what I am because of
my tender side… the side which is very, very fragile… the side which gets hurt,
anxious, insecure, yearns, dreams, cries, prays, and, above all, hopes and
soars… just as every man and woman, here on this planet, does…
Some days ago, a mother,
who was present during one of our Personality Development programmes along with
her young one, sent me a message, a few hours after the session…
“Thank you Sir. I really,
really loved your session. You are imparting values which are not taught
in school to help build their personality. Very powerful!”
How did I feel after
reading this message? It was the end of my day… I had just returned home doing,
with all my heart, what I passionately believed in. I replied:
“Need those encouraging
words Ma’am. At times, I lose strength. I have kept it going for close to
thirty years… because, I have believed in it from the core. Thanks a lot for the
kind words.”
And, I received it back
in even more measure…
“It’s from the bottom of
my heart Sir. It’s only human to feel weak at times… We are all only a call
away from each other. Pease do call anytime or do come home with your wife. You
are doing something so noble that God will give strength to overcome anything…
There’s a child in you, too, Sir; and, you do not have to be strong all the
time.”
I was moved by that last
line: "There’s a child in you, too, Sir; and, you do not have to be strong all
the time.”
How strange… How mystical…
How beautiful… teaching and learning in life are! Yes, the young one and her
mother were there to find help. A few
days before that, the woman had opened up about her young one’s and her own
anxious moments… and they had come to seek help by being most vulnerable. And,
now, look… how amazing Life and living can be!
The same woman is now able to empathize with my own vulnerable side: “It’s
only human to feel weak at times… and, you do not have to be strong all the
time.”
“What happens when people
open their hearts?” asks Haruki Murakami. “They get better,” he concludes.
Did the woman and her
young one get better when they opened up? I am sure, they did.
Did I get better when I
opened up? Yes, I did.
Brene Brown writes in her
book, ‘Daring Greatly’: “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves
be seen.”
Yes, Marty Rubin was
right… Real dishes break. That’s how you know they are real!
*P.S.: I had first posted
this blog on 4th July, 2017. Vulnerable moments make living
experience complete. They keep coming up in my life and keep me completely
human. One such moment, that came up just yesterday, made me revisit this Post.
Everything seems just like it was yesterday.
Hope, you find it useful!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic’s: pixabay
Videos: Andre Rieu/MrPipills
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