Vulnerability, the courage to let us be seen truly

BY Luisa Argueta
23/05/2019

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of human connections and the path to the feeling of dignity"

Brene Brown

How does vulnerability feel?

Every day, in our daily lives we come across thousands of situations that make us feel vulnerable. Let’s think about it for a moment, how do you feel when you leave the house in the morning and realize that there is a little more traffic than usual and maybe you’ll be late for work? Or when you receive bad news? How do you feel waiting for the doctor’s call with the results of a test? Or on a first date? Or by saying I love you first? Or when asking for help? Or when crying in public? Yes, that feeling of emptiness in the stomach and fear, that exactly, is feeling vulnerable. And sometimes it can be unbearable. But embracing our vulnerability with courage is undoubtedly the key to having real human connections, full of empathy and compassion, as well as the shortest path to self-love.

Why do we cover our vulnerability if we can't numb our emotions?

Because we feel ashamed to accept the beauty of our imperfection, we feel unworthy of being loved just as we are. The certainty that perfection is a postcard where we are always smiling, makes us reject our most authentic part.

Since we are little, we learn that there are acceptable emotions and emotions that are not so much, we learn to select only what we want to show in order not to feel rejected and maybe we even believe that crying is bad, that we can not rest, that it is not allowed be “weak”.

Addictions. Obesity. Debts. Anxiety. Buying something new that we do not need, eating the whole box of chocolates, smoking, drinking, will not make feelings like fear, sadness or shame disappear, even if we try. Acceptance and courage will.

The courage to accept our imperfection

The word courage comes from the Latin word “cor” meaning heart, so, what is courage? It is telling the story of who we really are with all our heart. Our job is not to focus on being perfect, our job is to focus on being happy, and to reach our fullness it is very important to accept ourselves vulnerable, in good times and in bad times and let others see it.

Being vulnerable makes you strong, indestructible and resilient. Always remember that you are more than enough.

Our ability to connect with others is our life purpose

"For there to be a connection, we have to let ourselves be seen, that they really see us"

Brene Brown Tweet

Let others truly see us. Having complete assurance that no matter how scary it may seem at times, we deserve to be loved is connected to the vulnerability. What keeps us disconnected is the feeling that we are not worthy, that we don’t deserve it.

Empathy, compassion and connection within human relationships is our life purpose, and this connection is undoubtedly the result of our ability to be authentic.

Everything starts with yourself

Love yourself and love yourself a lot, compassion begins with yourself, knowing that sometimes we will fail, that sometimes we will not feel well, knowing that we have much to learn and that it is allowed to fall is a great tool to connect with our personal power. You can not connect with anyone else if you do not connect with yourself.

Emotional and spiritual awakening

Learning to use our vulnerability in our favor is not an easy task, it is difficult and surely we will need a lot of practice to make it part of our day to day practice. At the same time, it is precisely this that will lead us to live a much more conscious and awakened life. And without a doubt, it will allow us to live more connected with ourselves and with others on a much deeper emotional and spiritual level.

Get help, you do not have to do it alone

If all this resonates to you, you do not know where to start and you feel that you can not do it alone. Ask for help. Speak up. Becoming conscious is half the way to achieve a goal. Tell us what makes you feel vulnerable? How could you use it in your favor? How do you think showing you how you are will help you connect with others?