vulnerability

when are we THE most vulnerable?

when we know we'll be seeing someone for whom we have the greatest respect?
when people don't know who we are?
when people do know who we are, and who we've been, but not who we might become?
when people think they know whom we are, and think they know what we might not become?

i think a lot of us try to not be vulnerable.
frankly, i think it's okay to do so: i think it's okay to be open to finding new strength that comes from that vulnerability.

i found myself feeling incredibly vulnerable today.
i wasn't sure why.
the previous evening, i'd found myself in a situation that made me extremely happy, and maybe from that came the "next day" vulnerability...the "back to reality" exposure.

is vulnerability linked to confidence?
does this have anything to do with sartre's existentialism?


i'm often labeled as "too sensitive." in the strictest sense of the definition, i suppose this might be accurate.
again, i don't usually think of this as a bad thing. IMHO, i think we all need to have greater sensitivity to others.
in my mind, sensitivity differs from political correctness.

it's often viewed as a weakness in our culture to allow oneself to be vulnerable.
you hear things such as "don't let yourself be exposed," "don't succumb to weakness," "don't leave yourself wide open."
this assumes that we can't handle the outcome. it assumes that we aren't strong enough to handle any pain or discomfort that might arise from the situation.

we're taught that we shouldn't leave ourselves unguarded or unprotected.
this creates a group of people that are SO guarded, overly so?
you can't smile at each other without a level of discomfort or distrust.
we have become a society of discomfort and distrust.

i think vulnerability comes from strength.
if we're strong enough to be vulnerable, then we're strong enough to be strong.

i end this passage, in gest.
i end by posing the rhetorical, "vulnerability is humbling and it 'builds character' ...doesn't it?"

my feeling is that if you can't expose yourself to a bit of criticism, you have no business wearing the suit.