I meet wonderful people all the time. They show me that wonderful accepting people exist!

Another thing about sharing weaknesses … the more we accept them, the less they can be used against us.

I thought you were on hiatus?? If so, I’m glad you think visiting my blog is a hiatus!

I can’t think of any good example right now but let’s say you’re losing hair. You admit to your girlfriend that you’re afraid you’re going bald. Or perhaps you’re not losing hair but you admit your fear of it. Instead of being sensitive to the issue, perhaps your girlfriend says:

“It’s only hair! You’ll always be attractive to me! Don’t worry!”

Now, the above example isn’t that bad, but it doesn’t quite feel like support…

Maybe this might be better:

“I am sorry you have this fear. I would be scared if I were losing hair, too…but I love you, not your hair…”

But in the heat of anger a girlfriend might say, “%$##!! and you’re going effin’ BALD – didja know that??!!”

Oooch.

The think that the more of “me” that I expose to my friends and people I care about, the more I allow them to know me and in many ways, the more I expose, the more loving I am to myself.

I’m not saying it’s easy! I’m not even saying that I “let it all hang out.” but I do think that intimacy and soulful love is about loving an entire person, not just the “good stuff.” I hope to write a post (soon!) about soulful love.

I just hope you allow someone to see all of you. Weaknesses are usually the most human parts of ourselves. Like saying, “You know, I really just want to be held…” or simply, “I’m afraid. I don’t know why, but I am so afraid.”

I’ve made light of a man’s vulnerability or not really listened in a way that I may have with a woman. I try not to do that to anyone these days. I’ve heard men tell me how they’ll show their “weakness” to a woman and it ends up being used against them in some way.

It’s too bad we all have to be so protective and that so many of us are so out of touch with what we are really feeling that we have to experience some intense emotion like anger or jealousy or pain to experience any feeling at all.