Today was the last day I spent with a close friend who came over to see me for a couple of days. We originally met in Antibes, almost 3 years ago now, and since that time we’ve both grown a lot. We spent a lot of time just doing nostalgic things and sitting in the sun by the rocky coastline. The walk along the shore is beautiful and at the right time of day the water truly looks metallic. Like billions of bright blue diamonds swimming in liquid silver. While taking in the breeze, the sun and the view, we have had the chance to catch up on how our lives are different now, and how we would like to continue to change.
For the last three years, I’ve made some truly amazing friends. One thing seems to link us all in common… we understand the power of vulnerability. In fact, when other people call us sensitive or emotional, we are able to see and support in each other the strength of this vulnerability rather than the shame. Over the last few weeks, I’ve realised that all of us have been able to see how having an open heart is truly a powerful thing despite what we had been taught in the past.
Travelling around, and knowing that I’m not going to see many of the people I meet ever again has of course made me braver. I am often not afraid to say how I truly feel, because I know that if it will hurt, then at least I can just move on to the next place. Before we open up to others we often ready ourselves for disappointment, heartbreak or attack… but in my experience, it’s hardly ever ended this way. Every time I open myself, I’ve been able to connect with someone on a level that perhaps both of us had never thought possible before.
It’s truly a superpower, being vulnerable, because I have witnessed so many people scared to be who they truly are with the ones they love. They go back into their shell, full of silence and with more defensiveness than before, because they fear expressing a change of heart. I say “they” but really, we all know this feeling – I certainly knew it very well.
But that’s why I had loved moving from place to place for so long. It gave me the protection I needed to see past the mirage. To see past the façade that people often put up of being strong, logical or fun… and to have the privilege of sharing what is underneath all that. The waves, for all their sparkle, are still just made of water. One of the simplest substances in the world, I suppose. Water is not a rare diamond and it’s not tough. In fact, it’s soft and fluid, but it seeps into our daily lives both causing destruction and giving life. Could it be that we also have the same power when we become soft and open to life?
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