No conversation around vulnerability would be complete without a few words about letting go. For those of you who are continuing to read even after that first sentence… It is the willingness to let go that allows us to fully embrace all aspects of life. Still not buying it? Just hang in there with me. Allowing the fullest expression of ourselves can be uncomfortable, and let’s be honest, oftentimes terrifying. Bricks of insecurity, old thought patterns, and societal frameworks, just to name a few, can create barriers in our experience of life. These walls not only keep things from getting in, but they also keep things from getting out. Simply put, we can’t experience life or show up to life in a fully expressed way. Sometimes these walls can come down in one sweep, but much to my dismay and I am sure yours, often it is a brick by brick job. This takes vulnerability, it takes a willingness, and sometimes a willingness to be willing, to allow our thoughts, emotions, ideas, creativity, messiness etc. to be fully seen, not only by others but ourselves as well. It is in letting go that we gain a deeper understanding of our connection to ourselves and the world around us. It is in the activity of letting go that our authentic self is found.
Vulnerability opens the door for all the experiences of life to rush in. Now this is not to say that all of these experiences will be ones we are super excited to have. But our ability to open, even when it may be difficult, gives texture and color to our lives. This speaks to the wholeness and fullness of our experience. Wholeness does not represent just the things we love about life, but it also encompasses those things we would rather not have to see, hear, or experience. The willingness to be vulnerable, to open ourselves to love, joy, sadness, heartbreak and all the things in between, creates an expanded space for us to live and grow. It calls us to loosen our grip in areas that have historically kept us playing small, and open up to the possibilities that await us when we truly “let go” and “let in”.
Rev. Ryan