Quotes and nice thoughts on vulnerability; being vulnerable

Love is not love
until love's vulnerable.

Theodore Roethke

Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability: it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it. The new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open. Stephen Russell Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior

The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility. Paulo Coelho Eleven Minutes

We all need somebody to talk to. It would be good if we talked. . . not just pitter-patter, but real talk. We shouldn't be so afraid, because most people really like this contact; that you show you are vulnerable makes them free to be vulnerable. Liv Ullman

I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable. Joseph Addison

There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be
no community without vulnerability; there can be no
peace, and ultimately no life, without community.

M. Scott Peck

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When we were children, we used to think that when we were
grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up
is to accept vulnerability. . . To be alive is to be vulnerable.

Madeleine L'Engle

Any love makes us vulnerable. Whatever we love will give
the gift of pain somewhere along the road. But who would
live sealed in spiritual cellophane just to keep from ever
being hurt? There are a few people like that. I'm sorry for
them. I think they are as good as dead.

Gladys Bagg Taber
Harvest at Stillmeadow

But, of course, putting yourself out there takes vulnerability. Vulnerability
is hard, and we, as a rule, tend to go for what’s easy; by that logic, closing
ourselves off is the easiest thing in the world. We quote the words of others
to do our talking for us, send each other links to articles and stories in lieu
of actual conversation, post pretty pictures to adequately convey our current
state of mind, all to avoid having to proffer a single identifiable human emotion.
We keep in touch with relatives by emailing them mawkishly inspirational chain
letters once in a while. We regurgitate memes to approximate
the feeling of being in the loop.

Phil Roland

Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think
more about the other person than about his or her
reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself
fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.

Joyce Brothers

A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine. . . each moment
requires a sensitive mind that is constantly changing
and constantly adapting.
A teacher must never impose this student to fit his favourite pattern;
a good teacher functions as a pointer, exposing his student's
vulnerability, causing him or her to explore both internally
and finally integrating oneself with one's being.

Bruce Lee

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and
powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when
we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that
offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.
Love is not something we give or get; it is something that
we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated
between two people when it exists within each one of them –
we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.
Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of
affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can
only survive these injuries if they are
acknowledged, healed and rare.

Brené Brown
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go
of Who You Think You're Supposed
to Be and Embrace Who You Are

You haven't yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The
peaceful warrior's way is not about invulnerability, but absolute
vulnerability--to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All
along I've shown you by example that a warrior's life is not about
imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior's
sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.

Dan Millman

As earthly creatures continually subject to relative disappointment, pain,
and loss, we cannot avoid feeling vulnerable. Yet as an open channel
through which great love enters this world, the human heart remains
invincible. Being wholly and genuinely human means standing firmly
planted in both dimensions, celebrating that we are both vulnerable
and indestructible at the same time. Here at this crossroads where
yes and no, limitless love and human limitation, intersect, we discover
the essential human calling: progressively unveiling the sun in
our heart, that it may embrace the whole of ourselves
and the whole of creation within the sphere of its radiant warmth.

John Welwood

When two people respect each other, the ability to be vulnerable
and to reveal hurt feelings can create a powerful emotional connection
that is the source of real intimacy and friendship.

David Burns

We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone--but
paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.

Frank Crane

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our
lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly
as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences
that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to
explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.

Brené Brown

Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness,
but it appears that it’s also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love.

People are so fearful about opening themselves up. All you
want to do is to be able to connect with other people. When
you connect with other people, you connect with something
in yourself. It makes you feel happy. And yet it's so scary,
it makes people feel vulnerable and unsafe.

Toni Collette

Sometimes we must yield control to others and accept
our vulnerability so we can be healed.

Kathy Magliato
Healing Hearts: A Memoir of
a Female Heart Surgeon

We get most upset with those we love because they are close to
us and we know that they are aware of our weaknesses. . . If only
we could learn to live with our inadequacies, our frailties, our
vulnerabilities, we would not need to try so hard to push away
those who really know us.

Desmond Tutu
Believe

Unquestionably the sensitive human brain adds immeasurably to
the richness of life. Yet for this we pay dearly, because the increase
in over-all sensitivity makes us peculiarly vulnerable. One can be
less vulnerable by becoming less sensitive—more of a stone and
less of a man—and so less capable of enjoyment.

Alan Watts
The Wisdom of Insecurity

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Most people squirm when they hear the word vulnerability. They expect to be harmed when they are vulnerable. These are the same people who go in and out of all kinds of relationships, placing themselves in positions in which they can be hurt, abandoned, rejected or violated in any number of ways. These are people who do not trust themselves and who cannot trust other people. Yet, when you think about it, vulnerability is not something you can avoid. It is our natural condition, and we must learn to trust it.
When you allow yourself to be vulnerable, it means that you are standing in the power of your authentic self, which has no defenses and holds on to no pretenses. Your authentic self is the foundation of your power. It allows you to be innocent while being strong. It allows you to be strong while being compassionate. Your authentic self is the part of you that knows no matter what happens to you, you will survive. Consequently, your authentic self trusts your vulnerability. It trusts the process of life, and it trusts the resiliency of your spirit.

Iyanla Vanzant
Until Today!