Well, let me tell ya somethin’ about this fella, C.S. Lewis. Heard tell he was a smart man, wrote books and all. Heard he said somethin’ ’bout lovin’ bein’ the same as bein’ vulnerable. Now, I ain’t no scholar, but I reckon I know a thing or two about life and love, seein’ as I’ve lived a good long while.
What’s this “vulnerable” thing all about? Sounds like one of them fancy words the city folk use. But the way I see it, bein’ vulnerable just means you’re puttin’ your heart out there, lettin’ someone see the real you, warts and all. It’s like openin’ up your chest and showin’ folks your innards. Risky business, that is.
Think about it. When you love somethin’, whether it’s a person, a critter, or even just a patch of land, you’re givin’ it a piece of yourself. You’re lettin’ it matter to you. And that means it can hurt you. If somethin’ happens to that thing you love, well, it’s gonna feel like a piece of you is gone too.
- Like that time my old dog, Buster, passed on. Loved that dog more than anything. When he went, it felt like a hole got punched right through me. That’s vulnerability, I guess.
- Or when my kids grew up and moved away. Loved them little rascals to pieces. But seein’ them go, knowin’ I couldn’t protect them no more, that was hard. Made me feel weak, like a tree losin’ its leaves in the fall.
But here’s the thing, even though lovin’ makes you vulnerable, makes you open to gettin’ hurt, I reckon it’s worth it. Why? Because without love, what’s the point? Life would be awful cold and empty, like a winter night without a fire.
It ain’t easy, though. It takes courage to love. It takes guts to put yourself out there and risk gettin’ hurt. It’s like walkin’ on a tightrope, you know? One wrong step and you could fall. But the view from up there, the feelin’ of bein’ connected to somethin’ bigger than yourself, that’s somethin’ special.
C.S. Lewis, he was right about that. To love at all is to be vulnerable. You can’t have one without the other. It’s like sunshine and rain, can’t have one without the other, or nothin’s gonna grow.
And it ain’t just about romantic love, neither. It’s about lovin’ your family, your friends, your neighbors, even your enemies, though that’s a tough one, I tell ya. It’s about findin’ somethin’ good in the world and holdin’ onto it tight, even when it’s scary.
So, yeah, bein’ vulnerable ain’t for the faint of heart. It’s gonna test you, push you to your limits. But it’ll also make you stronger, more resilient. It’ll teach you what really matters in life. And in the end, I reckon it’s the only thing that really does.
Love ain’t always pretty, it ain’t always easy. Sometimes it’s messy and complicated, like a tangled ball of yarn. But it’s real. And it’s worth fightin’ for. It’s worth takin’ a chance on, even if you get your heart broke a few times along the way. ‘Cause at the end of the day, it’s the love that keeps us goin’, the love that makes life worth livin’.
So go on, be vulnerable. Love somethin’, love someone. Don’t be afraid to open your heart, even if it means you might get hurt. It’s better to have loved and lost, as they say, than never to have loved at all. That’s somethin’ this old woman can tell ya for sure.
Tags: CS Lewis, Love, Vulnerability, Relationships, Emotions, Life Lessons, Courage, Risk, Connection, Heart
