I looked up what vulnerability means - the definition:
the quality of being or state of being exposed with the possibility of being attacked or harmed either physically or emotionally.
So some might say that's what comes to mind when they think of vulnerability. But I think there's another side of vulnerability that can be amazing in the sense that if you are able to trust the person you're with or trust in God, by being vulnerable you can open yourself up on a deeper level which enables you to grow. It enables you to let go of things that might have been holding you back. Maybe traumas in your past or things that you've experienced.
If vulnerability is in the right way it can be an incredibly empowering thing because you're enabling yourself to completely trust and completely let go in order to explore new ways of moving forward.
Being vulnerable is literally putting yourself out there, on the line, exposing yourself. The most important thing there is trust. That you are completely immersing yourself in that trust. I think if you've been through hard things in life and a lot of people have, I think that's why people struggle with vulnerability but I think if you can tap into the good side of being vulnerable there's a lot of positivity that can come from it because you can really grow as an individual and you can really let go of things on a subconscious level that hold you back. That's something I'm always working on. I think it's a process and I think it's only over time that you're able to heal. You might only be able to be vulnerable for five minutes. But then that can become 10 minutes and so forth.
I've noticed that when life throws you a curve ball and I've prayed to God, that's when I'm at my most vulnerable. I've noticed that it's through those moments that my faith has grown the most. It's really grown. It's really blossomed. That's not from reading loads of the Bible. It's not from going to church all the time. It's literally having that one to one moment with God and completely immersing yourself in God and saying "I'm only human. Help me on this one." I think it can be a positive thing but obviously you have to have that trust initially.
Especially if you're with people, it's wise to say you need to build a relationship with someone before you're completely vulnerable. But with God it's brilliant if you can just let go and say "I'm only human and there's only so much I know, so just guide me."
I hope that helps!
Helen