Moments of Vulnerability Reveal Our Strength

It takes courage to allow yourself a moment of weakness.

For most of my life, I would do anything I had to do to avoid having a “moment of weakness.” I would not, as much as I could, lose any control over my emotions and thoughts. I did not want to be perceived as weak.

What I learned a few years ago was that those moments, those “moments of weakness” are not indicators of weakness. In fact, quite the opposite. The moments where I can show I am vulnerable are the moments I show my humanity.

So I am learning. In a world where there is so much pain and injustice, where children are coming to school hungry and families are struggling to make ends meet, I often am called upon to listen and help where I can. When I sit with colleagues and friends and hear the struggles they are facing, I carry their pain.

I have found the courage to allow myself a “moment of weakness” which is not weak at all. I allow myself to feel the pain of others’ suffering, and to release the pain of my own. I sometimes close my office door when everyone has left, or I sit in my car on my long drive home, and I cry. Not because I am weak. But because I need a moment to exhale.

I don’t know what a moment of weakness looks like for you. But know that it does take courage to give yourself permission to have one.

And when we allow ourselves that moment, we will emerge stronger.