Vulnerability

I think the hardest thing I've ever done is fully stand present and allow my vulnerability to be exposed.  I don't know if it is true of everyone, but I do know that for me I still battle demons that fear rejection.  I still hold myself still and hope that I am not about to be crunched under the tire of someone else's judgment of me.
I was honored to spend a week in a class called the Natural Singer.  It always humbles me and inspires me to see people drop their guards and let the “who” of them shine through.  Reminds me that it is the vulnerability that makes me strong and beautiful.  And acceptance….
Well, that starts inside me, and I am becoming increasingly aware - once more - of the areas that I hold so little for myself.  So… that is the work I'm doing. 

Re: Vulnerability

Being vulnerable in a world that is so full of judgement and selfishness anymore is indeed a brave act.  I know where my vulnerabilities lie, but, I don't want to put them out there so much as I think they are like blood in the water to sharks.

I don't do well with sarcasm and 'locker room mentalities' and when you chose to not participate in such things,those that do seem to ramp it up to a point where it really is uncomfortable and very painful.

I am also vulnerable to my greatest fear, my 'worse curse'.  Sometimes it just smacks me so hard I want to cry.

So, I'm trying to figure out how to work on those.

Re: Vulnerability

Scott, it was in another class by the same person I was talking about…. there was a woman up front and she was so resistent to doing anything because she didn't like that feeling of being vulnerable.  Claude asked her…. “DO YOU WANT TO BE INVULNERABLE?” and of course she said yes.  So, he said “Then become as vulnerable as humanly possible.  When you quit defending who you are, no one can step in and hurt you.”

That is where I began with the willingness to be vulnerable.  I was laughing with someone a while back about my willingness to be a complete idiot/goofball.  No shame in my John Wayne impression (although maybe there should be).  I'm finding that the more vulnerable I become, the less I care about what others say.  And when I do find myself caring, I realize I just need to work it out and let go of the fear I am holding around it.

Vulnerability does not equal weak.  It never did.

Re: Vulnerability

A variation from a verse of the Tao Te Ching:

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as [openess],
Yet nothing can better overcome the hard and strong,
For they can neither control nor do away with it.

The soft overcomes the hard,
The yielding overcomes the strong;
Every person knows this,
But no one can practice it.

……there is nothing that the human heart cannot endure.


—-then on a different strain….what I find myself to fear (perhaps more than vulnerability) is great achievement.
   Would you feel no fear if you woke tomorrow and realized you could “walk on water”?

Re: Vulnerability

I keep hearing that line “there is nothing the human heart can't endure”…  I believe that.

What a wonderful offering!  Thank you.