The Bravery To Be Vulnerable

An experiment in #100DaysofVulnerability

Six years ago, I went through a 10 day Vipassana silent meditation course. It was easily, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not the silence mind you. That was easy. The hard part is sitting in your own emotional shit in meditation for 11+ hours a day. That shit, that shit is hard.

I learned many things from that experience; things have never left me (even if I’m not actively practising my meditation daily). One of the most important lessons I took away from those 10 days is that the bravest thing you can do, is be vulnerable. That shit is hard too.

Being open, honest, flawed, prone to judgment; an uncomfortable place for many of us. What I’ve experienced in my own life though, is that when I’m at my most vulnerable, I’ve felt the most loved, the most alive, and closer to who I am, right from my soul. Since that realization, Brené Brown’s work and writings have received massive exposure since her brilliant TEDx talk and subsequent appearances with Oprah, and I was so grateful to find someone who was able to articulate so well the experiences that I had had by embracing that modus operandi.

Last week, I spoke to a group of women at a Women in Communications and Technology event in Toronto. Speaking in public is nothing new for me, It’s something…