The path to love is vulnerability. The path to love is risking injury.

“we don’t confess for clout

we do it to build community”

I do it for a hundred reasons, one of which is that I guide this emotional and relational energy for my job, that and most of the other reasons I speak are highly misunderstood,.. and if you ever want to understand, you can simply seek it.

Ask.

It’s simple,

but it’s vulnerable,

so I get why most just form an opinion, or judgement

cuz asking is a bid for connection and can often means rejection

- and most don’t have the capacity for that emotion -

and many believe if we never ask,

we never get rejected…

but if you never ask you’ve already lost.

You’ve rejected your own need

for connection.

You’re not even playing the game, you’re just watching from the sidelines.

To risk connection, is to risk rejection.

To risk vulnerability, is to ask,

Sometimes for understanding,

Sometimes to understand,

and possibly not get it,

but either way,

the prize is love.

And

In the asking,

You might end up with some of theirs,

but you certainly gain yours.

And I’ll let JR say the rest 👇

“vulnerability doesn’t mean telling others what happened to us from across a cafe table or from behind a microphone

and then going home from the experience feeling just as alone as you did before

vulnerability means allowing your human heart blanket to get sewn to other heart blankets

it’s about connection

we don’t share for status

we do it for synergy

we don’t confess for clout

we do it to build community

we tell our tale

to invite others

to tell theirs

it’s the sacred cycle

of storytelling

we gather in a circle of trust and

say “here is my journey”

then we listen to

the other journeys

that are shared

we take space

then we give space

we pour

then we absorb

we speak

then we listen

we are storytellers

then we are witnesses

vulnerability isn’t just about

grave digging in our past

to expose our skeletons

it’s about sewing quilts

here is my patch

here is your patch

here is their patch

here is us

here is our story”

~ john “patchwork heart” roedel

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Other reasons to share:

To warn others of dangers

And there are many people and practices and principles etc that are worth speaking up about and risking losing or transforming your reputation and ego

But

You’ll have your values, integrity and character more intact than before.

The choice is yours.

I chose truth.

I gained love.

But first

I poured out the ocean of emotion in me

Daily

Then

I burned

Daily

For over a year.

For over a year,

I lost what seemed like it all.

At least the shells of loose love and shallow connections I’d built my life on fell away

and the ground with it.

But I still had me.

My values,

Integrity

Gritty dirt gripping my roots

And few strong souls helping me tend the web.

Vulnerability is not for the faint of heart.

But if you have a feint one

I encourage you to try it

And then keep practicing

Because in the practice you find your courage

And in the process you become your love.

💗

Fall in love with the process of vulnerability

And in the process you fall in love.

The process

Is

Love

Tbt Salzburg 6am empty cathedral and nunnery before the tourists arrived.

Just me and a prayer,

a longing,

an asking and receiving,

a communication,

a communion;

A moment of love dancing.

“Step into the fires of self-discovery

It will not burn you,

It will only burn what you are not”

& so it is

Again

And

Again