TENUOUS CONNECTIONS Between poles of vulnerability and defensiveness, we tentatively reach out into the space between. We carve into it with our words and actions, we disperse curiosity with gesture, movement and touch , we listen with whiskers of perception

Fundamentally we are social creatures longing for connection. One motivation for that connection is an attempt to realize  our identity through  the reflection we receive from others. The desire to be visible, to know ourselves. Part of that longing is a hunger for completion and extension into the world.

In service to this imperative  we are curious,  we signal openness, we stand with our vulnerability exposed. At the same time, we come  to this place of encounter with our special wounds, our accumulated pain, our insecurity  and fear. 

In the space between we make our inquiries, and live with the tension of our unresolved questions. In the space between we sort out, we probe, we try out the balancing act of where to set our boundaries. 

When can we permit our vulnerability to bask in the sun,  and at what point does our armor rather become a cage that fetters us in darkness.  How can we support an openness in the world through  appropriate boundaries?  Are there sorts  of boundaries that can  afford us the freedoms of self-agency as well as opportunities for connection?  This work explores the tensions in these questions.

KURT KOEGEL