Vulnerable

We are always so guarded and being constantly asked to wear a mask in front of others, never to show our real self. No one will understand, society will make fun of us, we will be judged and isolated if they find out who we are. Being vulnerable and true to ourselves are seen as weakness. 

However, it is the converse that is true. Vulnerability has certain power. It makes us brave and not weak. I first learnt about the power of vulnerability when I heard Dr. Brené Brown in a Ted Talk. She had rightly said, "Vulnerability is our most accurate way to measure courage...We can measure how brave you are by how vulnerable you're willing to be." For her and her researchers, vulnerability was a measure for assessing fearlessness. 

Thus, if you are vulnerable, it means you have the courage to be who you are, you are not scared to showcase to the world the real you. 

It is of course, not easy to be vulnerable. We are conditioned to hide our emotions, feelings, dreams and anything else that makes us us. Even with a select few, we are not truly ourselves. In fact, even to our own self, when we are alone, we don't admit to be the person that we are. 

To live a life that is true to yourself, the first step has to be to accept who you are and thereby, showcase the exact person to the world. It will become less burdensome to always keep the mask on. Yes, not everyone will understand, not everyone will be kind, but should the opinion of a few matter or should you choose to be who you are? The choice, as they always say, is yours.

If you haven't heard Dr. Brené Brown's talk, you may find it here.

As for today's song, well I recently discovered this instrumental music by violinist duo - sisters Ragini and Nandini Shankar. This touches my soul and makes me vulnerable to myself.