Being vulnerable sounds like something that is easy to do, or at least should be.
We share our lives through a series of social media channels on the daily, but when it comes down to it, we truly have more walls up then if these mediums did not exist.
Stressing about how we look for our selfies, getting the angle just right, and filtering our life into small squares. We take every thought into consideration with what picture we post, the caption that goes along with it, and how it fits into our profile as a whole.
We poke people, swipe right, and count the minutes we wait to text people back.
We are afraid to be anything but perfect. Afraid to show emotions. Afraid to make smiles in our pictures. Afraid to have imperfections. In today's highly critical word, where we overexpose ourselves, it makes sense. We have fronts up all the time. A suit of armor is metaphorically worn. Protection is amplified and implemented.
But why?
Why not show our hearts, our emotions, our souls? Why not take a chance, and look a little "dumb?" Why not do something that scares us? Why not be sublimely "us." Why not be naked?
Being vulnerable can be perceived as being weak. However, to show your human, is to show the world your true beauty.
I learned a long time ago that when you share your story, your feelings, your deepest fears, you give yourself power, and remove it from the rest of the world. You learn that your greatest strengths come from the things that scare you the most.
There will be events that occur in your life, or things about you that you try to hide because you are afraid of them, embarrassed by them, or ashamed of them. These things do not define you, they do not get to hold you back, and they do not sit playing for the world to see.
Let them go, share them with the world, or write them down on paper and burn them in fire.
Let yourself have peace, let yourself have love, let yourself have every feeling that exists. The more you feel, the more you'll see the world around you is sincerely miraculous.
Being vulnerable is scary, but living a life that does not allow you to be your truest self is even scarier. Whether you realize it today, or in fifty years, you will see the second you give in to yourself, your life will unfold in every way you wish.