an ongoing theme for me as i entered this year has been increasing my vulnerability – with friends, with family, with strangers (through this blog), with potential partners and most importantly, with myself.  i often hear people talk about vulnerability with others but i rarely hear it talked about in terms of how we are with ourselves.  the art of being vulnerable is about being open and more sensitive, thus being more susceptible to both criticism and hurt.  maybe that is why we tend to avoid vulnerability, even with ourselves.  what i realized is that if i can start with being more open with myself and more sensitive towards myself, it would be easier for me to do with others.

whether it is due to upbringing, my zodiac sign or something else that i have not even considered, there was a time in my life where i was hesitant about being vulnerable, especially when it came to love.  at the end of last year, i was a bit more closed off than i would have liked to admit.  i ended up coming across this quote on my friend roxy’s page and it made me pause.

“if you suppress expressions of love in fear of being perceived as vulnerable, you’re more in love with your ego than the people you claim to love.”

this shit is layered.

the first thing is why did i (for myself only) view vulnerability as weakness?  so much so that i was avoiding it at all costs with some of the people i am closest to?  i had to work on reframing that – i have done work on reframing this idea over the last several months and let me tell you something: vulnerability is both exhausting and liberating.

the second thing i had to address is if i had this ego that was mentioned.  i had never considered myself to be egotistical but something i had not fully copped to is how i was letting pride get in the way of love.  i was more concerned with what the potential reactions to my vulnerability could be.  it was all so raw and out of my control.  those exact risks are part of what makes it so beautiful.

even now, i am not a person lacking pride – i have just learned to scale that back to create more room for vulnerability.  in creating more room for vulnerability, i have created more room for love.

have you ever suppressed expressions of love?  if so, what did that look like for you?

xoxo,

k. tap