[Maria Camila]

This month I would love to discuss vulnerability. The best part of being human is being able to connect with other humans. We’re hardwired for it. We live in tribes and families, work in groups, search for communities and thrive in friendships. The drive to connect is in all of us whether we acknowledge it or not. Yet, we’re seeing more loneliness, more depression, more broken relationships, more disconnection. What’s happening?
Vulnerability is the driving force of connection. It’s brave. It’s tender. It’s impossible to connect without it. But society has turned it into a weakness. We’ve made ourselves ‘strong’. We’ve toughened up, hardened up and protected ourselves from being hurt. We’ve protected ourselves from vulnerability and disallowed the surrender. Now, most of us in the community could say they easily tap into that place of vulnerability, but are you really being vulnerable and opening up fully? Or have you found a story or coping mechanism to bypass vulnerability?

These writing prompts are designed to help us uncover our own sense of vulnerability and understand its edges (its disadvantages and benefits):

1. Do a word association exercise with “vulnerable.” (At the top of a new page, write the word “vulnerable.” Then below it write the next word that pops into your head. Continue writing words one after another, without stopping and without censoring, until your mind is quiet and no more words come to you.) When you are done, review the list. What kinds of interesting associations occur? Are there any patterns that emerge? What can you learn about yourself from this exercise?
2. Free write for ten minutes about what it means for you to feel vulnerable.
3. When have you felt most vulnerable in your life? What happened? Was it a negative or positive experience, and how did it affect your responses to vulnerability afterwards?
4. Under what circumstances do you feel least vulnerable? Do you feel more or less connected to others when you
are least vulnerable? Free write for ten minutes about your answer.
5. Make a list of as many kinds of vulnerability as you can (interpret “kinds” any way you wish). Which of these kinds of vulnerability has the most emotional charge for you (seems most important, urgent, critical, or increases emotional sensations in your body), and in what ways?

Feel free to share anything that comes up for you in the comments

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