Vulnerability and Shame

This quarter our hot topic, our theme, is shame.   I know that sounds scary and frankly it is.
It is scary partly because we don't talk about it.    Shame often involves aspects of ourselves that we keep hidden.  We think if people knew "that" about us they would think less of us.  We would rather put up a good front and somehow fit in.  However, that kind of thinking takes its toll.   We live with constant fear, however deeply buried, that we will be found out.    Instead we keep dancing, as fast as we can.    Some of the things we keep hidden have to do with a huge range of issues: appearance and body image, family, relationships, parenting, money, work, health, addiction, sex, aging and religion to name a few of the main ones.  Yes, to feel shame is to be human.
What I hope we will all learn, as we wade through some of this, is to become more shame resilient.   In doing that we will relax into being more ourselves, more authentic, with a whole lot less fear and anxiety and ultimately more lovable and more real to each other.

The book I am using this quarter as a resource is Brene Brown's  The Gifts of Imperfection.  I would encourage you to get your own copy of this book and keep it close.   It is full of down to earth wisdom.