vulnerability
Revealing our true selves can be difficult – even painful. We have all absorbed the message that vulnerability is the same as weakness, and that if you show vulnerability you will inevitably be hurt. In our community, we find strength in vulnerability and constantly seek for ways to heighten the sense of being wide open and defenseless.
Throughout our lives, most of us have built walls around ourselves, and armored ourselves against hurt and rejection. We have been hurt in the past and we don’t wish to experience that pain again.
But that very armor that we use to protect ourselves from vulnerability also numbs us to the possibility of great joy and happiness. We can’t temper one set of feelings without losing the rest.