"Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength."
-Sigmund Freud (photo: source unknown)
Today I had the inclination to blog. Like a legit craving, really. But as I sat here, I realized that I had nothing to blog about. And so I leaned in, drinking my coffee, and proceeded to write some of the most meaningless junk I've seen.
It.
Was.
Terrible.
There was a lot of deleting and re-reading with disappointment. But I wanted, so badly, to have something to say. And I just didn't.
And it occurred to me: Today is a day for waiting. Do you ever have those? I have them a LOT. Days where I'm not really pursuing anything because the more I chase, the less I get. I've learned to get more comfortable with days like that because they've taught me patience. And patience... well, it's never been my strong suit.
And as it happens when you stop chasing and let be- I came upon the above quote shortly thereafter.
It's interesting to me because I really am such a firm believer in opposition. Almost in this kind of weird way. Do I enjoy challenges? Not particularly. BUT- were it not for the opposing forces in my life, I wouldn't have acquired many of my strengths that I pride myself on. I believe all people are this way.
This is entirely my own opinion- but I believe that people without challenges are the least interesting of people. I don't want to hear about how your parents paid your way through college so that you could inherit your trust fund life. I want to hear about how you struggled and lived off Top Ramen and how the day you got that degree, you knew that you had made it happen. I want to hear about what made your life a mountain, not a great Plain. (Oh, puns. Will they ever get old? ...Yes? Oh, okay.)
I have a habit of asking people the awkward, hard questions. A particular friend of mine has had to deal with this habit amplified as of late, for which I'm... well, apologetically unapologetic. I can't give any other reason other than the fact that I am undeniably and unavoidably curious about people and their stories. People fascinate me to a fault. And maybe that's MY vulnerability... MY flaw (or one of, at least.) I want to know about other people to the point where it's just plain intrusive.
I want to know everything about everything. And every place. And every possible route to get there. It's this unquenchable thirst for seeing and learning something new. I've had it since I can remember and it's been my greatest strength, and yet my biggest weakness because it's gotten me into trouble more then a few times.
But I enjoy vulnerability. I couldn't agree more with the statement that it becomes our greatest strength.
I think the trick to mastering this is to be aware of your vulnerabilities, and to harness them into something that you can transform into your strong points. Vulnerabilities seem to have this negative connotation tied to them, like they're a bad thing. They're not. They're an opportunity.
For one thing, they're a chance for you to grow. You've got a chance to take points of you that would be weak spots, and turn them into the most resilient parts of your life. I find that to be the most amazing challenge anyone could set out for themselves.
For another, and potentially more exciting, point: they become opportunities to help other people. The more you talk about your challenges- the more other people realize that having struggles is commonplace. They now know that they're not alone. They see that they can have the power to overcome, too. Inspiring another person to take control of their life is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life...
As a writer, it has become very important for me to come to terms with my vulnerabilities. Not just so that I can work toward facing them, but because I have an opportunity to use this channel to tell people how alike we are in our struggles. To reach out to the ten or however many people who will read this, and say, "Hey- we're the same in this way."
It would be good, if we talked about it more.
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