Vulnerability is so hot right now.
But what exactly are we talking about when we toss that word about?
Ugly crying? Secret sharing? Being naked in daylight? Yes those, but also so much more.
VULNERABILITY IS NOT KNOWING WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
Vulnerability is the opposite of certainty, therefore, vulnerability is reality. We are all vulnerable all the time because we are alive. I'm certain of that.
Most of our anxieties and life problems come from the wish to avoid the pain of not being certain.
In your classic vulnerability scenario, you are afraid to tell the secret because you don't know if you're going to accepted or rejected.
But vulnerability is not limited to those moments of sobbing confession.
Vulnerability is any evening home with your small children and not knowing when a tantrum will start or when one will stop or what will be eaten and how much water will be splashed out of the bath.
Vulnerability is asking your partner to pick up dinner and not being sure if he'll remember.
Vulnerability is calling the plumber and not knowing if she's going to pick up and what exactly you're going to say.
Vulnerability is writing a little something online and not knowing who will read it and what they will think.
We are always vulnerable because we never really know what is going to happen next.
So next time you find yourself anxious or frustrated ask yourself, "Is this because I don't know what's going to happen?"
When you start to see this vulnerability, instead of rushing to cover it up, maybe you allow yourself to feel the liberation of sitting with the discomfort of not knowing what will happen next.
When you sit in that, the vulnerability, you are most alive, for better and for worse.