{"id":2361,"date":"2012-10-29T18:31:54","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T23:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2012-11-01T16:30:48","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T21:30:48","slug":"vulnerare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/?p=2361","title":{"rendered":"Vulnerare"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last Friday, Trent discussed some reflections on vulnerability<\/a> as inspired by the book,\u00a0Daring Greatly<\/em>, that a few of us are reading right now. \u00a0I would also like to offer a thought for pondering about vulnerability as something different than weakness. \u00a0This is what Brenee has to say:<\/p>\n

When\u00a0discussing\u00a0vulnerability, it is helpful to look at the definition and etymology of the word\u00a0vulnerable<\/em>. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word\u00a0vulnerability\u00a0<\/em>is derived from the Latin word\u00a0vulnerare<\/em>, meaning “to wound.” The definition includes “capable of being wounded” and “open to attack or damage.” Merriam-Webster defines\u00a0weakness\u00a0<\/em>as the inability to withstand attack or wounding. Just from a linguistic perspective, it’s clear that these are very different\u00a0concepts\u00a0 and in fact, one could argue that weakness often stems from a lack of vulnerability–when we don’t acknowledge how and where we’re tender, we’re more at risk, of being hurt<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I find it refreshing and thought-provoking to think of vulnerability in this way. \u00a0Typically, I find that most people think of vulnerability as a weakness and therefore, stay away from it in order to appear strong and tough and to survive. \u00a0As a therapist, I encounter this a lot with my clients. \u00a0After reading how Brenee distinguishes weakness and\u00a0vulnerability, I would strive to challenge all of us to consider her words. \u00a0Vulnerability is not weakness. \u00a0In fact, vulnerability can put us in a position of greater understanding and thus, self-empowerment. \u00a0To me, it sounds like we have the choice to use our vulnerability to our advantage.<\/p>\n

Brenee goes on to discuss how when we engage in vulnerability, we can put a name to what we are trying to avoid or protect. \u00a0And while this may feel utterly uncomfortable, it is often the act that can free and empower us. \u00a0This really resonates with me and my experience as a human. \u00a0In my past, I have experienced some horrific circumstances that I did not discuss with others until I was older. \u00a0Over the years that I remained silent, I not only was emotionally and mentally upset, but my body showed physical symptoms of my struggle. \u00a0I would every so often get majorly sick and have to seek hospital services to get myself back to health.<\/p>\n

When I finally exposed my secret (I could even call it my shame), a huge weight lifted from me. \u00a0I gave a name to my inner struggle. \u00a0And to do this, I had to became vulnerable. \u00a0And would you guess what happened? \u00a0My random bouts of unexplained sickness went away right along with the inner turmoil I was facing alone. \u00a0To me, this proved the power of vulnerability and the positive and empowering feelings that can surface as a result.<\/p>\n

This is why I buy in to the idea of vulnerability as not being the equivalent to weakness. \u00a0What about you? \u00a0Would you consider this as a possibility? \u00a0If so, how do you think vulnerability could empower you specifically in life?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Friday, Trent discussed some reflections on vulnerability as inspired by the book,\u00a0Daring Greatly, that a few of us are reading right now. \u00a0I would also like to offer a thought for pondering about vulnerability as something different than weakness. \u00a0This is what Brenee has to say: When\u00a0discussing\u00a0vulnerability, it is helpful to look at the definition and etymology of the Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,78],"tags":[194,138,68],"coauthors":[19],"class_list":["post-2361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotions-2","category-self-2","tag-brenee-brown","tag-empowerment","tag-vulnerability"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/149240_821504770862_5553378_n-200x3001.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions\/2405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}