From my personal blog: LivingLoved-blog.com
I find myself continuing to reflect on vulnerability. Earlier this week I asked some friends for their thoughts about what vulnerability is and these are a few of their responses:
- leaving your emotional/physical/mental well being open to growth as well as pain
- Dropping your protective walls… leaving oneself open to attack, or other experiences, good or bad…
- quote by Madelaine L’Engle has spoken to me in the past simply because this is how I felt as I moved from childhood to adulthood, “When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability…to be alive is to be vulnerable.
- when I think of the word vulnerability a few things come to mind, “weakness”, “exposure”, “fragility” but also “openness”, “faith” and “trust.” I also think of the Gaelic idiom, “Eadar dhà lionn” which trans…lates literally as “between two waters”
I think these folks and others have captured what I was trying to say in Deeper life: Vulnerability and that is pain really is unavoidable but we as a culture have so very little tolerance for pain that we seek to avoid it at all costs. In doing so, we seek to sooth our pain with whatever is available: food, drugs, medication, retail therapy, sex, performance, busy-ness , hiding behind false identities – you get the point.
The net result is not life at all, but a numb isolation which may leave us relatively secure from discomfort but results in crippling loneliness only engaging with others, ourselves and God superficially. Many are often left wondering that why in the most connected generation (twitter, facebook, etc) is the most frequent cry of the people I have opportunity to serve a profound sense of loneliness?
I am not some kind of sadist who thinks we should look for opportunities to be hurt. What I do think is we should not shrink back from meaningful opportunities for healthy relationships for fear that we might get hurt.
To life!
I really like this quote ‘But to grow up is to accept vulnerability…to be alive is to be vulnerable.’ Getting to the place where we can accept our own vulnerability is I think a time of growing in wisdom. Accepting and knowing that we are vulnerable helps us to know our limits and boundaries too, without being afraid, and in that comes strength. It is all by His grace.