A Vulnerable Time

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Each year I’ve taken on the idea of embracing a single word to carry me through the year.  This year my word has been vulnerable.  And boy has this one been a doozy.

I took on this word, because it represented so much of what I saw my life being this year.  I knew I had a fabric line coming out (more on that later!) and wanted to tackle more patterns and fabric goals.  I also knew that my health was going to take some new bravery on my part and that my body literally feels more vulnerable every day.

But what I didn’t know was how vulnerable I would feel in the world.  The uncertainty of our election year, the miscarriage of justice in trial cases, the continued massacres of innocent people by confused people.  But most of all, I was not prepared for the amount of HATE that I hear coming through on social media and the world’s response to the people they consider (often rightfully so!) ones who should be persecuted.

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It’s an eye for an eye.  Or a head for an eye.  It’s anger unfettered.  It’s vulnerable people lashing out in any way that they can think of.

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But I want to challenge us to embrace our vulnerability and do something different with it.  It’s a cliche, but BE the change you want to see.  Turn to your friends, your family, your neighbors, strangers and be a light to them.  Bring joy to one person every day.  Be the light for someone…and that someone can be yourself! It can be a child, a sibling, a parent, the person taking too long in front of you at the checkout…

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Problems in the world are never fixed with darkness and hopelessness.  They are fixed by people full of purpose. People on a mission of peace but not powerless. light4

18 thoughts on “A Vulnerable Time”

  1. Rosemaryflower

    Always.
    God gave us a gift of life. We get only one.
    If we truly want to live a life worthy of God’s gift, we should look outwardly.
    Everyone is carrying a burden. That does not mean that we must get up and help every single person
    I think we should care for the circle of people around us,
    Happy Wednesday

  2. Jacqueline Skarritt

    Thank you for this beautiful, meaningful post…… I need to be reminded of this uplifting philosophy often….. So much hate and anger surfacing can only be countered with the tenants you shared.

  3. I don’t know why your body has become more vulnerable this year, but I understand being physically vulnerable. It requires a special kind of bravery and faith to accept the limitations of our bodies, yet soldier on to live life as fully as possible. Good for you! I share your concern for the safety of our world, and the sanity of our culture. Clearly, many, many people feel hurt, and are responding with fear. Thanks for reminding me that I am not powerless to change this situation: I will remember to be the love that counteracts the hate, at least in my small circle of the world.

  4. Thank you for reminding me of the power of love, goodness, courage, and the benefits to admitting the need for physical, spiritual, and emotional bolstering.

  5. Brenda Reinhardt

    Perfect. Thanks for the laugh and the wisdom. If we look, it is so obvious. Love one another. It is easy.

  6. Thank you for the reminder that not the entire world has lost it’s mind, or heart. I just cried at dinner over people I don’t know, and now will never be able to. I also wrote some of my elected officials today to suggest that some of us are still expecting them to at least try to work on this craziness. Maybe if we all do what we can…

  7. Thanks for such a thoughtful post, Angela! It’s such an easy thing to lose sight of at times like these – but such a simple thing to be the light. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru. Smile at that harried mom in the grocery store. Wave to your neighbors (even the ones you don’t know!) when you walk through the neighborhood. Choose joy as you go through the day! Little things can start a big ripple effect!

  8. Those words are beautiful Angela. Thank you for sharing those reminders. I don’t think of them as cliched at all, but rather the best advice for living a meaningful life. The badness in the world and the hate and tragedies we see are very hard to bear. The stress and worry it causes also takes a toll on our health. I try very hard to look for and focus on the good in life. The world is full of kind and caring people and we far outnumber the bad. We have to hope that good will prevail.

  9. Yes – this reminds me of the Marianne Williamson poem:

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?… Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do… And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

    Thanks for the reminder!

  10. LOVE this post. I want to print it out as a flyer and tuck it in people’s windshields. Yes, it does start with one … like a wave, it ripples outward. Thank you!!

  11. diane l stanley

    If only the world could be as great as our community of quilters. I am late reading this but in light of what happened in Istanbul it is very appropo. Hugs, di

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