This week, I started a novel for one of my Social Work classes called "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown, and I can already tell that this is a book that is going to change the way I think and the way I approach my life.
Brene Brown has an MSW in Social Work, and has dedicated years of research to engaging with people and making genuine connections. Brene Brown is much more passionate and eloquent than I can be on this topic, and I recommend "Daring Greatly" to anyone interested in reading more on this topic. Her central ideology is that the core of all genuine emotion is a concept that we generally shy away from: vulnerability.
Vulnerable. The word itself is scary. It makes me think of being exposed and feeling afraid. Brown cites the naked dream that everyone has had at some point with the emotion, aligning vulnerability with ridicule or embarrassment.
Vulnerability in our world is aligned with being weak or somehow not enough. In a world where you have to be invincible and driven to be successful, no one has time or interest in allowing yourself to be weak. But being vulnerable isn't necessarily being weak. And it is the only way to open yourself up to some of the best emotions in the human experience.
Brene Brown expresses her ideas in an amazing way. "Waking up everyday and loving someone who may or may not love us back, whose safety we can't ensure, who may stay in our lives or may leave without a moment's notice, who may be loyal until the day they die or betray us tomorrow--- that's vulnerability.... Yes, its scary and yes, we're open to being hurt, but can you imagine your life without loving or being loved?"
I thought about trying to put that in my own words, but I realized I couldn't do it justice. To love someone is to be vulnerable. To be creative is to be vulnerable. To be inventive, empathetic, and genuine, is to be vulnerable.
So why are we still stubbornly thinking of vulnerability as a weakness?
Our ability to be vulnerable, to be real and raw and honest with ourselves and others, is far from being weak. Vulnerability is not a weakness, it is a strength.
The next time you feel vulnerable, don't try to cover it up. Don't repress your emotions, even though they can be uncomfortable to experience. Take something you've thought of as negative and make it positive.
