Living in Community: The Price of Vulnerability
The purpose of this blog is to answer the following question: "What is the meaning of community?" Allow me to answer that it means to be voluntarily vulnerable.
I am going to use this space to recount, as best I can, the concepts we discussed late into the night last night because I just had this feeling we touched on some truths. I learned today that there is a "nod from the universe," when people speak the truth. I felt like there were several nods last night and I want to write them down before I forget them.
The conversation involved five people, then two people, then three people, then two people.
People talk more willingly when the sun goes down.
Safe, vulnerable environments have been created in the anonymity of addiction recovery meetings where people share no last names and also in the strict dogma of the Catholic Church confessional.
People are funny, interesting, frustrating, crazy, lovable beings.
We are all hiding; and in this way we are all the same.
We are so desperate in our hiding that when somebody finally reveals even a smidge of themselves, we fall in love.
We all have a host of different past experiences which shape our fears.
People's vulnerability is most easily seen through their strengths.
Community members cannot reach a level deeper than "roommate status" without sharing more about themselves.
I cannot make somebody be more open; I can only be more open myself.
I cannot make somebody be more vulnerable; I can only be more vulnerable myself.
It is the secrets that kill us; and in this way we are all the same.
If we are to live in community we must look at ourselves and we will not like what we see.
The live the ideal of community is to strive for the ideal of 100% self challenge.
Ideals, by definition, are unattainable.
What one man calls integrity another calls stupidity: to strive for ideals despite their inattainability.
The purpose of this blog is to answer the following question: "What is the meaning of community?" Allow me to answer that it means to be voluntarily vulnerable.
I am going to use this space to recount, as best I can, the concepts we discussed late into the night last night because I just had this feeling we touched on some truths. I learned today that there is a "nod from the universe," when people speak the truth. I felt like there were several nods last night and I want to write them down before I forget them.
The conversation involved five people, then two people, then three people, then two people.
People talk more willingly when the sun goes down.
Safe, vulnerable environments have been created in the anonymity of addiction recovery meetings where people share no last names and also in the strict dogma of the Catholic Church confessional.
People are funny, interesting, frustrating, crazy, lovable beings.
We are all hiding; and in this way we are all the same.
We are so desperate in our hiding that when somebody finally reveals even a smidge of themselves, we fall in love.
We all have a host of different past experiences which shape our fears.
People's vulnerability is most easily seen through their strengths.
Community members cannot reach a level deeper than "roommate status" without sharing more about themselves.
I cannot make somebody be more open; I can only be more open myself.
I cannot make somebody be more vulnerable; I can only be more vulnerable myself.
It is the secrets that kill us; and in this way we are all the same.
If we are to live in community we must look at ourselves and we will not like what we see.
The live the ideal of community is to strive for the ideal of 100% self challenge.
Ideals, by definition, are unattainable.
What one man calls integrity another calls stupidity: to strive for ideals despite their inattainability.
posted by Ryan at 12:23 PM
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