Vulnerability - The Key To Our Growth The little shed pictured above sums up, for me, what allowing one's self to be vulnerable is all about. When my sister purchased her home, this shed was at what was most likely it's all time low ... the paint was peeling, the roof was sagging, and it was in danger of collapsing due to a system of grape vines that not only totally surrounded it, but that were weighig the roof down! The easy thing would have been to tear the shed and the grapevines down. Rebuild the shed ... problem solved. However, there were other considerations here. The grapevines were old growth, very intact and bore an abundant crop of grapes. They were also visually appealing, and acted as a personal gym for the local squirrels, who provided hours of entertainment for anyone willing to watch them. The shed provided my sister with much needed storage space, and the cost of tearing down and rebuilding was prohibitive. So ... my sister allowed the grapevines and the shed to stand. The grapes were harvested and made into jelly, the squirrels were happy, and our family spent many hours under the adjacent trees, admiring the vines and applauding the squirrels. After a couple of years, my sister came up with a plan. The surrounding trees needed cutting back, to preserve their integrity. She decided to cut the grapevines back to the core, so that the shed could be repaired and painted. The picture above shows the shed "in transition" - the roof has been repaired, the outside walls have been sanded down and a first coat of paint applied. In allowing itself to be vulnerable, the shed gained a "new" life. The grapevines show every sign of coming back ... and when they do, the squirrels will have their playground back. The "new life" for the shed is on a much more solid footing that the old life ... all of the bits and pieces that comprised the old life are still there, but this time they have a much better chance of co-existing for many more years. The same is true of our lives. We build them piece by piece, balancing all of our needs and responsibilities. One day we look around ... and our lives are no longer serving us. We need to make a changes ... perhaps many changes. We are, at this point, about to take ourselves out of our "safe zone", and become vulnerable. We have to take the leap of faith that says "I know that I will be protected. I know that there is a force bigger than myself, and I need to trust that all is as it should be." In being true to ourselves, in walking our paths with integrity, we live in a constant state of vulnerability. What we gain is personal growth - a better understanding of ourselves and our environment. As I look at my life, I can see where, when I allowed myself to take that leap of faith, I was rewarded with many opportunities for growth. When I was eighteen yeard old, I joined the Army. I joined because I wanted an education, and joining the service gave me the best opportunities. However, I had never lived away from home, had never been on an airplane, and had no comprehension of what the Army was. What I gained by taking that leap of faith was a profession that translated into civillian life at a very good salary, the chance to travel and meet many interesting people, and the opportunity to get an education. Essentially - I "grew up" in the army. My next major bout with vulnerability was when I left t he service. After ten years, I was looking at staying in the service for another ten years and retiring, or returning to civilian life. I made the choice to return to civillian life, and it served me well. I worked for many years in the profession that the Army had trained me for. Then I decided to change professions ... to drastically change professions. It took me four years to segue from being a medical technologist to supporting myself by doing Tarot readings. Had I made the jump directly, without trying to do lab work part time while trying to find my place in the Tarot world, it might have taken less time. However ... I feel that all was as it was meant to be. As a Tarot reader, I will always be in a place of vulnerability, as the laws chance and as the views of the public towards my work change. And that is now my "safe place". Look at what needs changing in your life. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, allow yourself to take the steps that will change your destiny. Be willing to take that "close look" at yourself. Like the little shed above - you can discard one life and ressurect yourself in another. Thank you for visiting my pages. May your day be Blessed. Personal Lifestyle Reading - I offer a Personal Lifestyle Reading using Tarot that looks at past, present and future influences in your life, at the energies that are currently available to help you along your path, and at those energies that are appearing as challanges. My goal is to offer you insight into your decision making process, as well as tools that you can use to both better understand your path and make conscious, choice centered decisions. Home Personal Empowerment Personal Empowerment links Personal Empowerment articles View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook Graphics by Art for the web