all the tiny vulnerabilities

this image - of a person carrying an immense weight on their back whilst protecting a tiny, fragile, vulnerable object in their hand carries such resonance for me that i thought it would be worth sharing here. the artist, balint zsako, can be found here:
http://www.balintzsako.com/

and learned about here: http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2007/03/art-space-talk-balint-zsako.html

obviously balint is very talented and possesses access to insights we can learn from.

inside each of us hovers, floats, winds, and weaves tiny vulnerabilities that collectively form an ecology of mutually sustaining anxieties or precious knowings. some of these form into stories, the stories that we share when we reach a point of trust with a person or wish to reach a point of trust with a person. we share our vulnerabilities through our stories. we share our stories through our vulnerabilities.

in making ourselves open we make ourselves available in the same way that a doorway, when opened, invites others into the room we occupy. they have the option of entering or simply walking by.



the picture above shows a person with the weight of the world on their back. the shapes look like stones, but could also be clouds. clouds of unknowing, clouds of anxiety, clouds of knowing, clouds of sorrow, clouds of joy, clouds of responsibility, clouds of perception - the list is endless. in his hand nestles something tiny, fragile, vulnerable. what might that be? something to be protected; perhaps something to be protected from the collective weight of the person’s life experiences. perhaps, it metaphorically describes the place we all hold safe from even the most trustworthy of relationships. that place, that most intimate knowing of self that informs all that we are but which is ultimately cupped in our hands safe from everything but ourselves.

safe from everything but ourselves. now there's a place to stop and reflect.

i think that people carry many of these tiny little protected whatever-they-ares’ with them, protecting them from the harsh realities of their existence or maybe more properly, protecting them from their perception of the harsh realities of their existence. i wonder why we do this? i wonder how much energy is taken up in doing this? i wonder, if we let this habit go (because that’s often what it is - a learned behaviour) what would happen to us and more importantly and maybe even more interesting . . . . what would happen to the tiny little protected thing?