Vulnerability is, by nature, linked to selfishness. That selfishness, which protects us from hurt and pain, shame and rejection, is, what some would call a natural quality. Evolutionarily, it is a survival strategy. However:

Vulnerability is not weakness. That myth is profoundly dangerous. Vulnerability is emotional risk, exposure, uncertainty - it fuels our daily lives. It is our most accurate measurement of courage: so be vulnerable, let ourselves be seen, be honest. It is the birthplace of creativity, innovation, and change.

Brené Brown, ”Listening to Shame,” TED Talks, March 2012

Recently, I have found it difficult to let my guard down. It is simply much easier said than done.

Florence, Italy | Find me there in May 2012 (:

The Straight Story (1999) - Directed by David Lynch

You don’t choose a life, Dad…You live one. - The Way

From you I learned that love can be short and heartbreak is long. Time heals, but forgetting is not a skill that can be mastered. So I waited. It is harder for me to trust now. It is just easier to be shallow and not get too involved in anything that is not permanent in my life. I have built a suit of armor to protect myself but inside it, I will always be missing that piece of me not even you can return. Who would be stupid enough to ever let themselves hurt from that kind of pain again? But then I would also ask myself, how then, will I ever get to feel that kind of happiness again?

“You ran through Africa and Asia and Indonesia, and now I found you… and I love you. I want to know your name.” - Last Tango in Paris (1972)

We want to be loved; failing that, admired; failing that, feared; failing that, hated and despised. At all costs we want to stir up some sort of feeling in others. Our soul abhors a vacuum. At all costs it longs for contact. 

Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Söderberg