On Vulnerability

I was sitting amidst the crowd, and yet still apart. For a long while I stayed there, silently watching the group of people surrounding me, people deep in conversation and bonding through it. Though all coming from diverse backgrounds, they all had one main commonality in the faith they shared. Connections were being made, lives were blending, hearts were mending. These people, I realized, are a truly beautiful community. How wonderful it was for us all to be able to come together in unity. And what a sight for me to watch: the laughs, the tears, the stories, the hearts being poured out. It was the perfect example of the trust we put in each other when sharing the deeper bits of ourselves.

To find people we can connect with, to share our inner longings, and to be passionately zealous about our faith with others is an beautiful gift, and something so important to hold on to. It's incredible, really, to watch people bond and relate with one another.

It's something I've always had trouble with. To share myself, to let others peek into the dusty corners of my soul and mind – corners I allow few to touch but God and myself. Even then, I can still be shy. But this shyness – which has it's place, for I believe everyone should be guarded to a certain extent – can be my downfall. I have been coming to the realization lately that it's okay to let my guard down once in a while. I can turn back those dusty corners, and I can let the sunlight in.

Bit by bit, I'm learning. I'm learning that it's okay to be vulnerable. Because that's what it means to be human. It's how we live, heal, and create friendships with one other: by sharing the deeper, more vulnerable, and most beautiful parts of our souls.

Frames of summer // random thoughts

I.  I changed a few things up here, as I'm sure you've noticed. Some more changes in design will be coming, when I have some time to work on them... I'm also contemplating a new blog title, and any ideas are greatly appreciated! (Yes, I know I just did this earlier in the year but I'm already getting tired of my current name).

II.  I am feeling so overjoyed about the canonization of Mother Teresa. She was one incredible, beautiful soul and will forever be one of my greatest role models. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

III.  Also, just a moment of recognition for Scott Hahn: I've been reading a couple of his books this summer. His words have been incredibly helpful for me and have made me want to continue learning as much as I possibly can about my faith. There is so much to be discovered, so much to be read, and I am absolutely thrilled by this. The more I learn, the more I love...

IV.  One more thing: an excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit, a favourite childhood book of mine. I recently rediscovered it, and this is just too wonderful a quote not to share:

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.' 

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.  

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'  

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”