Being Open to the Possibility of Being Hurt
What does it take to walk through life being open to the possibility of being hurt? You could also replace the word hurt with failure here, because we’re all terrified of both. We may think of a new experience and say to ourselves, “Skip it” because of the possibility of failing, which fucking hurts. So what does it truly take to say, “Fuck it if I get hurt” and then storm onto that little stage that we call life?
This is where Vulnerability steps in. It takes being vulnerable to accept that pain is a stepping stone to learning what truly works for you and in the end, will bring you more happiness. The hardest part about vulnerability is tearing down all those walls you’re so proud of. They make you tough and cautious and they took so much time to build!! These walls weren’t built out of thin air they were built from moments of your life!! The walls came from moments of struggle that you can reminisce on and talk about to your friends to really show them how much you’ve endured!! They give you so much depth, right?!? … Meh… I guarantee you your friends don’t attach who you are to your baggage, so why should you?
The problem with walls is that they’re attached to emotions and emotions attach themselves to things that closely resemble what happened in your past, so you end up not living in the moment. Sure, your walls make you strong and aware, but aren’t they also attached to fear? Walls are attached to fear of your past catching up with you and kidnapping your future. Walls like to highjack your life.
Quick pitch, what if those walls you’ve so proudly been holding up are actually holding you back? What if you let your pride go and you took this moment for everything it is, trusted your instincts and said goodbye to the fortress of memories that are only stealing away time from the current moment that is your life? We’re all very good at building stories in our brains that can lead us further and further away from our current moment. What if you walked through life, deciding that the stories you’re telling yourself aren’t leading you down a path towards peace and you’re just going to decide to go balls out and be open to the possibility of being hurt along the way? Because either way, YOU’LL BE OKAY! Let go of past judgments and take on new experiences. You’ve got so much more time to build new walls! You’ve got more time to learn from your mistakes. You’ve got more time to be angry, sad, surprised, disappointed and joyful. You’ve got time to build new walls that you can hold up in pride, but maybe this time they can be sprinkled with the thought that if you get hurt, it’s okay? Maybe they can be sprinkled with courage instead of fear?
You should be open to the possibility of being hurt, because you should be living life for this moment. This moment is all you’ve got.