The difficult thing is that vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I'm willing to show you. In you, it's courage and daring. In me, it's weakness.
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Ashes to Ashes
Heed well the lessons life will unfold before you, for they are woven with threads both beautiful and painful. When life’s storms gather, there will come moments where you feel compelled to retreat into yourself, to withdraw from the world.
I have felt these times often. They are overwhelming. Crippling.
You will know these times well—times when the weight of existence bends you inward, much like a tree that leans away from the winds to protect itself from harm. And yet, in doing so, in curling up to shield your heart, you may find that in the act of retreating, you create a space where silence grows.
Think “The Sound Of Silence”. Do it.
Silence is rarely neutral, my children. It can feel to those you love like absence, like abandonment. It is here where a rift may begin, unnoticed at first, but widening as the days pass.
Do not despair. For it is not the retreat that defines you, but the return. It is not weakness to seek solitude, but strength lies in your willingness to emerge once more, to speak the truths you held so tightly in your heart.
To say, "I was lost," or "I didn’t know how to reach out,"—these are the words of courage. In the revealing of your soul’s struggle, you offer others the invitation to do the same. And in this mutual unveiling, trust is reborn. There is a power in vulnerability, a power not often recognized in this world where strength is misunderstood.
Remember, my dearest ones, not all vulnerability is weakness. Not the ones offered up freely and willingly. It is the forge where your relationships are tested and strengthened. It is a flame that rekindles the connections you feared may have dimmed.
Imagine your bonds as glowing embers, nearly extinguished by the cold silence of retreat. But when you return, speaking from the depths of your experience, you breathe life back into those embers, igniting a fire stronger than before. This is how you grow closer to those you love—not by avoiding the storm, but by facing it together, hearts open, fragile, yet resilient.
Yes, the journey through solitude can be necessary at times, but do not let it become your prison. There is a delicate dance between withdrawal and reconnection, between the quiet of your own thoughts and the voices of those you care for.
Life will demand both—solitude to reflect, and connection to heal. Do not linger too long in either space, for it is the re-emergence from one into the other that will give you strength.
When you feel overwhelmed, remember that seeking solace in retreat is a natural response. Yet, the longer you remain withdrawn, the more distant the world becomes, as if time itself begins to collapse around you.
In solitude, you may experience both moments of peace and torment, feeling trapped between them. Salvation lies not in hiding, but in the choice to step back out, to confront not only the world but also yourself.
Every decision to engage, each moment we choose to re-enter life, shapes not just our present, but the futures we are moving toward.
Understand this, children: life’s storms will pass, but your actions in those moments will echo through your days. When the winds of stress and hardship bend you low, know that it is your choice to rise again that matters.
As the phoenix rises from its own ashes, so too can you rise from the darkness of isolation, renewed and strengthened. Do not fear your scars, for they are marks of resilience, and in showing them, you give others permission to reveal their own.
And when you look upon your mistakes, the moments where you faltered, know this as well: the hardest battles you will ever fight are not with others, but within yourself.
A victory won at the cost of your integrity will always feel hollow, leaving you unfulfilled. It is in facing your own inner turmoil, in acknowledging where you have stumbled, that true growth begins.
So, my dear children, face the world with open hearts. Embrace the moments of solitude when they come, but do not let them define you. Return from them with a spirit willing to share, willing to be vulnerable.
For in this, you will find the greatest strength life has to offer. And remember, always, that your journey is not walked alone, but alongside those who love you, ready to meet you in the spaces where words, silence, and truth converge.
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Too many mistake kindness for weakness.. sharing ones emotions is almost seen as a "mental illness", admitting character defects, short comings and fears in this "perfect" world .. lol
This pretending seems to have crippled the world I think sometimes.
Finding those that have integrity and empathy is not easy.
Thank you!! 👏👏
"The difficult thing is that vulnerability is the first thing I look for in you and the last thing I'm willing to show you. In you, it's courage and daring. In me, it's weakness." This quote hits hard and points out the contradictions in how we interact with others. Thank you for your words of wisdom.