Leave Room for Surprise

Sometimes people really surprise me. It can be a good thing. Or really, really bad.

The bad things have seemed really obvious lately, racism, sexism, isms have actually been abounding with a strange ferocity that boggles the mind. Sadly for me, some of those 'isms' have been less than shocking, leaving that lost feeling when things that don't really make sense kind of start to. There is a flip side though. Where the good stuff lies, where we are reminded that people are so much more than we ever dreamed.

People are often astonished at my musical taste. I confess I love 80's music, including Hair Metal. It hardly seems possible, right? While talking music last night my friend, knowing I'm a proud Metalhead, raised an eyebrow at me when I admitted that. "What? I love Heart. And Fleetwood Mac. You know, I was going to be Stevie Nicks someday."

She grinned. "Oh, you have a gooey center?"

"Only when it comes to music."

Her own gooey center had popped up the night before, catching me off guard. It was something known, in the back of my mind, but never really admitted. I was a little stupefied.

Therein lies the secret. We can reengage with enchantment if we are open to the new. When we leave room for the gooey center aka vulnerability to appear, the surprises can be magical. Good.

The friend who reveals a secret, amazing dream.

Meeting someone who loves you because of your quirks rather than in spite of them.

The unbounding energy that someone has when they have found their calling.

The power that comes when communities stand together to make the world better.

Vulnerability is a hard thing to show, but we all feel it. That 'gooey center', as it were, is the literal heart of the matter. If we can leave room for our selves to be surprised we gain the opportunity to learn about so many new things, within the people we love and the people we have yet to love.

So, what's your gooey center? What change has happened in your life that has surprised you? Share in the comments!