When my walls come down, I am brave.

When my walls come down, I notice.

When my walls come down, I allow.

When my walls come down, I trust.

Some life experiences break us open to such a state of vulnerability, our body's natural reaction is to safeguard and protect. Experiences that cause our hearts to expand with love, or break from pain, feel too raw and exposed for our rational mind. Good or bad, we sense we are losing control, and we want to stay safe within the illusion that we can manage our emotional experience, in order to prevent ourselves from getting hurt.

Walls are built. Vulnerable emotions are shut down, and we claim this is an ok way to live.

When an emotional valve has been opened, our body might instinctively respond by closing off the uncomfortable sensation. The flow of feelings appears to be too much, so we shut it off, in order to remain safe. The problem is the body holds the emotion anyway, and not allowing ourselves to feel the emotion, means it remains a knot, unable to be processed, and unable to be freed. We always have a choice. We can keep the valve open, and allow the feelings to flow, knowing they will change or deepen, or we can disallow, disassociate from the body, and turn away from our emotional self.

The truth is, we never really have control. Just because we open ourselves up, does not mean we won't survive when there is loss. Likewise, just because we stay closed, does not mean we won't get hurt.

When we allow our walls to come down, we are trusting ourselves enough to have a full, human experience. An experience that includes a range of emotions, rather than a life of safety and limited understanding of who we are.

There are no mistakes. There are only opportunities and lessons, chances to feel an experience, a relationship, a beginning, or an end. There is no good or bad, right or wrong. A feeling is simply a sensation and nothing more. With this new perspective, there is nothing to fear and nothing to close off. In fact, living a life open will bring more love, more joy, more compassion, and more fulfillment than a body that refuses to experience confusing or painful emotions.

Breaking open means you loved. Breaking open is the price for caring. So are laughter, excitement, anticipation, wanting, longing, dreaming, loving, and trust. A life of vulnerability and the capacity to FEEL might mean getting hurt. But it also means gaining a deep understanding of others, compassion for the human experience, and healing for yourself and the world.

When a wall comes down, appreciate.

It means you are lucky enough to be human.