Brene Brown, one of my favorite social workers and authors, has a wonderful book called The Gifts of Imperfection. [She also has done my favorite TED Talk of all time (which if you haven’t seen it stop right now and watch it!).] And I can’t wait to read her newest book that was just released and I can’t wait to get my hands on: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead.
In her book The Gifts of Imperfection she talks about vulnerability and how important it is to be vulnerable, and to be willing to share our deepest, most authentic, wholehearted selves with another… with one caveat… with someone who has “earned the right to hear your story.”
So often we shy away from being vulnerable, from showing tremendous courage in showing ourselves to another because we have been hurt, and often it is because we have chosen to share with someone who hasn’t earned the right to hear our story. It is a learning curve to figure out this vulnerability piece…
Trust, vulnerability, love and boundaries sometimes have steep learning curves.
When I was thinking about these things, I came across this poem from Hafiz:
Your love
Should never be offered to the mouth of a
Stranger,
Only to someone
Who has the valor and daring
To cut pieces of their soul off with a knife
Then weave them into a blanket
To protect you.
Hafiz
What a beautiful image, someone who has woven pieces of our soul into a blanket to protect us. Those are the people who deserve to hear our stories.
My wish is that all of us have people in our lives who have earned the right to hear our stories. People who have taken our pain, our loose ends, and who have taken the bits and pieces and gently and lovingly woven a blanket to protect us.
Amen sister, and you my friend are one of them. I thank you for being open to so many people, you do know how to listen and feel.
This one hit a nerve. Going to sharpen my pencil and explore why. Thanks for the Hafiz poem. Touched me deeply.
[…] cards And finally, a great quote about authenticity by Brene Brown, given to me by my friend, Erica. It’s a little bit of a read, but so worth it. Choose authenticity So there it is! My […]