I met someone. At the gym. Who would have guessed? I was head deep into my workout, music, motivated, gaze fixed in front me. That’s when she stopped me.
She was maybe all of 5’2, late 50’s and her small hands tapped my shoulder. I put down the dumbbells and quickly removed my ear buds. She was a Hispanic woman with a round face that was framed by gray, pixie cut hair. She had full lips that surrounded a kind smile. Her thick brown eyebrows made the sadness in her eyes all the more visible.
I smiled at her and said “Hello”. She began to take me on a journey as she reminisced about when her body used to be strong. She told me how she used to lift heavy weights like me and how she was once in “great shape”. She shared that just a few years prior cancer had taken over her body and she “has never been the same”. I listened to not only her words, but also the journey of her heart. The battle of feeling broken and afraid when life takes you down a difficult road. The meaning behind her story and how cancer had seemingly taken her body from her. She felt weak, separated and ashamed of her appearance. When it seemed that she was done sharing, I offered some generic encouragement. Something about being “one step closer”, and how life’s a journey.
Then I looked at this sweet, beautiful human. I was making myself available, but then I decided to be vulnerable. I dropped my shoulders a little, and I could feel my heart surrender to the moment. “I’ve had cancer too”, I said. She looked surprised. Then I shared a bit of my story. When I was done, I could see the connection in her eyes. Our humanity had intertwined. I reached out and held her hand in both of mine. I said to her, “Your body just fought off cancer. It has been very busy using all that strength.” Then with all the emotion I could let out in a gym with all the meat heads around…I peered into her sad eyes and said “We are here. You and me. We beat cancer and we are alive!”.
Her eyes smiled and she laughed genuinely. “Yes, yes we are.”
We parted ways, with the hopeful goodbye that we would see each other again taking care of the strong bodies that gave us more opportunities to live. The interaction has been flooding my heart and mind ever since. How many moments we miss when we are head deep in our task. How many connections are not made when we are afraid to be vulnerable. But what happens when availability meets vulnerability? A beautiful exchange, our humanities intertwined. 🌻
Hits home ~ 💜