I’ve been reading Daring Greatly and I keep putting it down just to sit with what I just read and breathe. I want to soak it all in and understand exactly how it applies to me, my life, my goals.
She’s naming something I’ve always felt but never quite had words for.
In my mind, I have always HAD to be PERFECT- before being lovable or even likable. Perfection is a false sense of armor that doesn’t allow joy or sorrow to penetrate it.
Brené has plenty to say about that.
Vulnerability is not weakness. It’s the most courageous thing a person can do. The research backs this up in a way that genuinely stopped me. I have always thought things had to be perfect before launching, this has prevented progress countless times. (My husband often says, “Don’t let perfect get in the way of the good.”)
She shares that people who experience the deepest sense of belonging, of connection, of joy, are not the ones who have it all together. They’re the ones who show up. Fully. Honestly. Without the armor.
But life sure does beat us up sometimes. I think we wear armor without even recognizing it. We suit up to navigate all the journey of life. Sometimes the hardest stuff comes from those closest to us. How do we move through that?
Yet, it feels obvious to me that the tenderest moments, the most meaningful moments, really are the most vulnerable. I cannot quite explain how it feels inside me to both be vulnerable and brave. They seem counter intuitive, yet they seem to be exactly what leads to my most authentic self.
I’ve been thinking about how much of my life has been spent making things from the purest place in me. I am reasonably sure I cannot accept credit for any of this. I think it’s just being open. The universe, God, however you view it speaks and I am trying to listen. New affirmation decks keep wanting to come through me. I literally cannot stop writing them. (There are more on the way and I am so excited about them.) Something keeps saying there is more to say, there are more people to reach.
But here’s the ah ha moment Brené handed me:
What I’ve been doing all along, in every card and every deck and every letter, is an act of vulnerability. Saying I see you. I believe in you. You are enough right now, not someday. That takes courage to put into the world without knowing how it will land. And somewhere along the way I started thinking of that courage as a little embarrassing. Too earnest. Too much. I have never really accepted myself as enough (or I have thought I am too much, fun, right?)
Daring Greatly said: no. That IS the work. Authenticity is the whole point. Meeting people where they are, loving them there, that is not soft. That is the most human thing there is.
Things are coming together for me in a way I can feel but am still finding words for. Like something that has always been true about me is finally something I can stand in with my whole heart.
Vulnerability, it turns out, is a strength. I’m just now letting myself believe that.
So, let us move through this life we are blessed to have with courage and vulnerability. There is certainly no guarantee of success, however, the joy we seek seems to be in those brave moments.
sending you so much love,
Susan
P.S. May Affirmation Letters. They are ready. Printed and waiting to be mailed, and I cannot tell you how much joy is sitting in that stack of envelopes.
Affirmation Letters is a monthly subscription delivering original affirmation art prints, personal letters, journal prompts, and an art invitation – all designed to meet you where you are. Learn more at Greetings4Good.org
This is my act of love.
One envelope. One heart. One month at a time.
