Last night I finally got around to listening to the podcast The Courage to be Vulnerable (<-- click to listen!), in which host Krista Tippett has a conversation with Brené Brown. I don't normally listen to a lot of podcasts, but this one came recommended and the topic felt relevant. I have been becoming increasingly convinced that this one thing - vulnerability -  stands at the root of our imprisonment and in turn our freedom. Our absolute fear of it grants it its power to bind and oppress us, and keeps us oppressing ourselves similarly. We keep feeding this belief that in order to stay safe, we must successfully control our present lives, our future lives, our friends' beliefs, our family's beliefs, our employer's impressions, our Facebook network's impressions, the list goes on and on...

But it is exhausting and we are tired. And maybe these things aren't meant to be guaranteed. Maybe safety is borne out of experiences of survival, and maybe as long as we are proofing our lives to make sure life can't actually happen, we can never grow the confidence that we CAN live it. We never get to test our resilience, invest in faith, or witness our incredible ability to relate around our fears and imperfections. In essence, we never get to celebrate our humanity, or enjoy exhaling deeply knowing securely we can relax into it.

This podcast delves into vulnerability as it defines our personality expression, biases different genders, and applies to parenting. It also has EVERYTHING to do with the fundamental struggle for people suffering from BFRB's. Whether it was designed to address this group or not, it is completely relevant to them and so I highly encourage you to have a listen. Brené Brown, in the first segment, makes mention of character qualities she found in her research to be antithetical to a "wholehearted" life (essentially, able to give and receive love fully even if you're getting hurt). I thought this list screamed BFRB traits, but you can evaluate for yourself:

• Perfectionism
• Judgment
• Exhaustion as a Status Symbol
• Productivity as Self Worth
• Cool
• What do People Think
• Performing
• Proving
• Quest for Certainty

Lastly, I'll leave you with some noteworthy quotes spoken by Brené in this episode:

• "Does this mean that our capacity for wholeheartedness can never be greater than our willigness to be broken hearted?"
• "Choosing to live disappointed because it's easier than feeling disappointment."
• "I don't want to spend every ounce of energy I have ducking and weaving."
• "Hope is a function of struggle."

Hope you enjoy and come out feeling more compassionate, brave, and encouraged!