“One of the greatest acts of courage is to be vulnerable with someone with whom we disagree”
—— Frances Kissling
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Skin, you gotta have skin
It’s the stuff that keeps your insides in
You gotta have skin
I couldn’t find any reference to this song online. All I can find is the similar song by Allen Sherman but the one I remember, I heard by a campfire while at a Boy Scout camp. I don’t remember any more of it than what I wrote above.
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A very dear friend recently shared on social media that she was wondering where she could get “one of those thick skins everyone keeps going on about?” and someone chimed in and said “You grow one as you get older.”
I then agreed with that and offered… “… these things come with the repetition of living life eh? Whatever you practice, you become good at. Even if it’s just complaining. The thick skin is necessary for navigating much in life but can be a detriment as there will always be value in sensitivity. Once the skin becomes thick, one must then employ a skin thinning practice.”
My friend liked this but the exchange has me thinking now… now that I’m firmly entrenched (or perhaps ensconced is the better word?) in the topic of vulnerability, I’m intrigued by the metaphor of…
Skin.
To be continued…
