Emotional Vulnerability.

We simply can't go deep without it.

All the best stuff happens when we're emotionally vulnerable...

Humility.

Gratitude.

Care.

Joy.

Love.

But we've also learned that vulnerability is where the painful stuff lives, too.

It's no wonder that most of us have suppressed our vulnerability.

Reducing my feelings of vulnerability was a smart decision at the time I made it. And it was an active strategy for most of my life.

It's what our egos try to do every day...to keep us safe by creating emotional distance, in case I'm rejected or neglected or abandoned or criticized or hurt again.

The emotional distance I create gives me a feeling of control, and that feels safer than feeling out of control and subject to the whims of those around me. 

So we learn to not be vulnerable out of necessity. It was the best strategy we had, with limited options available. After all, we were young children at the time that these coping strategies and defense mechanisms...