Vulnerability or the Art of Being Brave
And above all: Human
It is surprising and disturbing how we humans are afraid of our humanhood.
Those characteristics that in essence make us human we reject or try to minimize them. Why is it so? Are we out of our minds?
Why are some of us so afraid of displaying our weaknesses for example? Okay, maybe not fully display them but at least acknowledge and embrace them?
Because at the end of the day: each human being has their own gifts and some areas they need/want to work on (or not).
What kind of society are we building? The perfect one? = the robot being one? There is not such thing as perfection in the humanhood reality. Nevertheless, I believe perfection can be found in nature. Mother nature is perfect if you ask me — did you ever look at the endless sea view and wondered how it would look like otherwise? I bet not. I also think that perfection can be found in music and in art. But the irony when it comes to art and music is that some of the artists aren’t always fully convinced that their craft is perfect.
So, going from the fact that no one is perfect: when and why did it become the norm to be flawless and unbreakable?
From the moment this will be a global awareness, I’m confident that the world will be full of more authentic and mentally healthier people. People who are true to themselves no matter the circumstances. People who dare to be vulnerable: because they will know that being vulnerable will not threaten their inner value, only their ego (and it’s not a big deal).
Let’s take a simple example: next time someone ask you “how are you doing?”: truly say how you’re doing and what you are going through if so (without downloading too much either though, because each one has their own share of challenges). You won’t die of that. You may even get better out of it and deepen the relationship with the person you opened up to. Because the interaction with that person (if it’s a real caring friend) could be beneficial and help you switch perspectives and move forward.
In my sense, vulnerability is being self conscious and brave enough to recognize that one isn’t perfect. It is also an awareness that no one ever was and no one will be. Each one will have their own share of not so perfect life episodes as long as they live. No one will escape. The key element to remember being that those episodes are essential in our lives. This is how we grow and increase our maturity and consciousness. Otherwise how else would that happen? Definitely not in the comfy zone.
Being vulnerable is embracing the whole you: the sweet, the sour and be okay with that.
And finally, being vulnerable is sending out the reminder to other fellow humans that it’s allowed not to have it all together “all the time”. There’s not such thing as having it all together forever. Those who may seem to have it all together now, have had, or will have their not so great days at some point, remember that. We are in this together.
Until next time, be well, take good care and be busy being and staying humanly awesome.
One love 💜
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Sources of inspiration
Fabulous minds of among others: Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Bréné Brown, Byron Katie. + reflection on my personal experiences