Embracing Vulnerability & Releasing shame
A path back to myself
“Quickly means slowly, but without interruption”
For a long time, learning how to embrace vulnerability wasn’t an easy choice for me.
I might have shown it sporadically, but I remember the wall I built around my heart to keep myself safe from being hurt.
I would forge connection through a kind of openness that brought me close to people — but deep, deep inside, I couldn’t truly open.
I remember, six years ago, my boyfriend asking me to open up. He could sense my distance, my guardedness — and I had no real understanding of what it meant to truly open to someone, to be vulnerable.
I would share deep stories, thinking that was vulnerability.
But only after I began a deep healing journey did I realize what was really happening — and what had been stopping me from being authentic and vulnerable.
It was shame.
A deep, ancestral shame that I had been carrying inside me — one that had been passed through my family for generations, and that I, too, was silently experiencing.
I felt a profound shame for simply being myself.
This emotion showed up in so many everyday moments:
I would feel shame for crossing the street, for eating in public.
I would shame myself constantly in my own mind.
I felt overwhelmed by shame whenever I tried to speak up — terrified of making mistakes or of coming across as “too much.”
Living in Shame Has a Price
You make yourself smaller and smaller, thinking that this way you’ll stay safe by being invisible.
Yes, I missed many opportunities — chances to grow, to feel, to fully enjoy beautiful moments.
But instead, I stayed in my head, trapped in fear and self-judgment.
And yet… I’m not sorry.
I’m at peace with how things unfolded.
I now understand the bigger picture: this was my path.
This was the way my soul chose to grow. This was how I was meant to learn this lesson.
Even though I mostly remember the moments that felt heavy or painful, I know my life was perfect the way it was.
And most importantly — I trust my Highest Self.
Of course, this wisdom came only after moving through those struggles, and connecting more deeply with myself.
I wouldn’t have been able to write these words before doing the inner work.
Now, I’m sharing this to inspire you.
To encourage you to go fully into yourself.
And to remind you: it’s worth it.
Yes, there will be pain — but pain is only one shade in the wide palette of human emotions.
And now, you have the power to choose.
Choose freedom.
Choose love.
Choose peace.
Yes, the choice is yours.
Take your time — there is no rush.
Just remember: it only takes a brave yes… and the rest will follow.
If this speaks to your heart, share it with someone who needs a reminder that healing is possible.
You may also like The Adapted Self — a post about how childhood survival patterns affect emotional openness.