The gift of vulnerability.
We live in a world that programs us to fake it if we ever want to make it.
In such a world, the crippled pretend to be okay, and the hurting and the struggling will walk with their chin up, and a smile as bright as the morning sun.
Amidst all this, there are but a few that I cherish. Those who refuse to stay silent. Those who are bold enough to be true to themselves. The vulnerable men and women.
“To thine own self be true” — William Shakespeare.
If there’s a gift I believe I value more than anything, is the gift of someone's vulnerability.
It’s how human this gift makes another.
Vulnerability reveals. It connects. It allows. It destroys assumptions. It makes love possible. It makes understanding even more possible.
Vulnerability is the glue in any relationship.
It’s like how my cousin would say it, two hands can never interlock if they don’t open up.
Despite its beauty, Vulnerability has a sharp edge.
When someone decides to open their heart and allow you to see through, that my friend is not a joke. I tremble with such trust.
At times this gift is offered in search of a listening ear. Nothing much.
Other times, it’s in search of a way out, a solution.
Whatever I say in such situations may either break them or make them.
Pick your words carefully when one has entrusted you with the gift of vulnerability. When you don’t have the answer, it’s wiser to redirect them to the one who has.
They have given you access to the most priceless thing in their life. Their Heart. It’s noble to make sure you leave it better than you found it.
If you have been blessed by a safe place, a safe person, one whose motives are clean, the kind open to receiving your gift of vulnerability with open hands. I say cherish them. They don’t come by as easily.
But if you haven’t, start by being that safe place for another.
