Are you allowing yourself to be vulnerable?
Can you be vulnerable?
Can you accept vulnerability?
Do you see it and stare it in the eye?
Vulnerability is something we all have a hard time dealing with. We regard it as a weakness, so we tend to hide it in the deep dungeons of our selves. Indeed, we are very adept at this! Entire societies are conditioned into doing this. Hide your vulnerability! Don’t show your weakness, or people will exploit it!
Could it perhaps be possible that we need to redefine what is strong and weak from scratch? Let’s make a note of that.
Vulnerability, as horrifying as it may sound, also perhaps gives us strength. We get to see what’s inside in all its bareness. We get to look directly into what feels uncomfortable, whatever feels broken on the inside…
This may sound like a cliché, but when a tree branch breaks off, a new branch blossoms and grows in its place.
When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, when we show the courage to expose our true selves and emotions, and when we take risks, then sure, there is a chance of getting hurt or feeling embarrassed, as well as other negative outcomes you may fear. But we also get a chance to grow and flourish as well. It’s a chance for all the good, love, and compassion in us.
This is how empathy works. It’s how we allow ourselves to understand others and become aware of our own emotions, through each interaction. Sure, we may not always like it, but each time, we learn something new about ourselves, about people, and about life.
There are times when I feel like vomiting, when every cell in my body feels like it shriveling, and I want to run and run as far away as possible as soon as I expose any kind of vulnerability. Still, it might be worth trying to feel the connection.
With each step and each experience, we become vulnerable, and something changes and evolves inside us.
Vulnerability is then maybe the real strength, rather than a weakness.
Vulnerability means that we try, that we show courage, that we live.
It allows us to perceive our own imperfections yet still find a way to move forward toward healing ourselves, allowing ourselves to be human and connect with our inner selves.
Being strong is then perhaps not just being tough, steadfast, and hard. Maybe being strong is really where we shift forms, like becoming water (or air or a rock, etc.) when it’s really needed.
Maybe real strength is the ability to adapt…
…and vulnerability is a way to lead us through all these feelings, so we can explore and learn.
