Fierceness

From our Exceptional Women's Retreat this summer, Val leads the group in yoga. She starts the session with an explanation of "fierceness."

Here is the transcript:

The Retreat Yoga Session with Val

We're just going to start with a little story. I feel like I'm writing a post. I wanted to tell you about this time I was in my therapist's office. I'm sitting with her and she looks at me and she says, "There is fierceness in you."

And I said, "Nooo."

She said, "Yes."

And I said, "No, I'm not fierce and I'm not forceful and I'm not aggressive... I'm protective. I'm not fierce."

She said, "There is fierceness in you." And I said, "What is that?"

So she started talking about a National Geographic type of documentary where you watch a flower bloom in time lapse. And you watch the flower push its petals out towards the sun, urging up towards the sun. And you SEE the fierceness in that.

And I said, "Okay, I'll be THAT."

The lotus flower in Buddhism symbolizes purity. It grows up from the mud and the slime and it comes up with purifying waters, up, out into the sunlight. I want to be that.

Because life is hard. If you are going to bring something to the table, let it be fierceness.

Here comes an IEP. Here comes an IQ test. Here comes an MRI. Here comes a diagnosis. Here comes your child's birthday. Here comes a stranger asking, "How old is he?" Here comes a typical kid.

Here comes discomfort.

And you need fierceness to sit with that discomfort.

You need fierceness to push up through that suffering and then some. It takes fierceness to sit with that to open your heart up to that. When instead you want to huddle in a corner in a fetal position and wrap your arms around yourself and protect your soft spot. It takes fierceness to sit with that and not harden but instead soften like a flower.

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[liltripletmama]

That was beautiful ! Very moving..........