The Beauty of Vulnerability

Hi, my friends,

For some reason, this week was a challenging one.

There was a lot going on, including the weather (I know, any of you Northerners or Mountain folks have no sympathy for our Southern winter complaints (-:)

Business-wise, there were simultaneously challenging and exciting things happening. On the exciting side is launching a new Master Class for Cutting. I always love these classes. They are some of my greatest joys. My favorite part is the interaction with the students I get to know, and of course, I always learn, too.

On the challenging side, this past week included empathy for a friend going through the hell of a lifetime.

So I was feeling super vulnerable, and fortunately, Brene Brown came to mind. It had been quite a while since I had watched her videos or re-read her books, so I got on YouTube and was grateful to be there.

Her words were healing.

I remember her saying before that whatever makes us vulnerable makes us beautiful, but I couldn’t remember much more detail than that. When we feel vulnerable, we feel raw inside; sharing it is always good with someone we trust.

In the video, she was talking about how if we fear someone discovering our weaknesses, it can cause us to throw up our guard. That’s certainly not the stuff of connection. 😉

Brene also talked about how vulnerability is the birthplace of positive emotions.

I’ve always loved positive emotions (who doesn’t), and I know and aspire to live their joy and power. Positive emotions are like the heartbeat of life to me.

It was enlightening to reflect on the fact that without vulnerability, there’s no love, empathy, and the need to be innovative in some cases.

Somehow, those videos were exactly what I needed.

I’ve always believed that in difficulties, we can find our greatest gifts. (It’s the same when we ride a horse. A place of weakness is our customized place to improve.)

But now, I see vulnerability as a shared emotion and a powerhouse for connection. When we open our hearts to others, whether it’s with horses or people, those moments of sharing are powerful movers of the heart.

With sharing comes connection. And connection is what we all crave.

So there you go. That’s my vulnerability experience of the week. It feels good to have rediscovered Brene’s wisdom and realize that feeling vulnerable is part of the human experience – albeit a dark feeling – but beautiful light is on the other side.

Vulnerability is something! It isn’t easy, but as we have the courage to walk through it, we discover some of life’s most precious gifts and beauty.

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