Imagine a world where every time you swipe your cell phone, millions of posts of the “perfect life” come your way - a good meals, flawless skin, and an ever-positive smile. But another set of statistics is even more alarming: the incidence of anxiety disorders worldwide has risen by 25% in a decade. Why is it that the more we chase perfection, the more we suffer instead?
Today, I want to talk about a word that is stigmatized by society - “vulnerability”. We are taught to hide our tears, deny our failures, and act strong as if imperfection is a sin. But I want to say this: it's those cracks that let the light in.
The Dilemma of Vulnerability - When Society Sees “Imperfection” as the Enemy
On social media, real life behind the filter is erased. A 15-year-old girl left a comment, “I Pic for two hours just to gain ten likes, but I hid under the covers and cried until the early hours of the morning.” As philosopher Alain de Botton put it, “The modern version of others-as-hell is the number of likes.”
Our systems are complicit: in the workplace, exhaustion must be disguised as “positive energy”; in school, a child commits suicide after failing a test, and there is a culture of zero tolerance for “mistakes”. When society sees vulnerability as the enemy, we become prisoners of our own lives.
The Subversive Power of Vulnerability - Reconstructing Humanity from its Flaws
But is vulnerability really weakness? Psychologist Brene Brown has studied for decades and found that it's the moments of recognizing vulnerability that are the flashpoints for empathy and creativity. Van Gogh painted “The Night of the Stars and the Moon” in the midst of a mental breakdown - madness and greatness are originally two sides of the same coin.
Microsoft openly admits system vulnerabilities and continues to iterate, but instead wins users' trust. The “beauty of the broken” explains the philosophical and spiritual origin of Buddhism, and the Japanese extracted the aesthetic concepts from Zen culture, forming one of the three major aesthetics of Japan, the wabi-sabi aesthetics - fragility is not the end, it is the beginning of growth.
Living with Vulnerability - From Self-Confrontation to Self-Reconciliation
So, how do we live with vulnerability?
To yourself: please treat yourself like a best friend and say, “It's okay, take your time.”
To others: Try saying “I'm actually scared” in front of someone close to you - authenticity will be like a spark that ignites more hearts.
On a societal level, Finnish schools have done away with grade rankings and focus on “assessment of progress” because they believe that education is not a screening machine, but an awakening of the soul.
In conclusion, I would like to say that human beings are not AI programs, and our cracks are the proof of being born human. The poet Leonard Cohen wrote, “Everything has a crack, that's where the light comes in.”
Give yourself one minute a day to stare, cry, or even say, “I can't.”
Then you'll realize: when you embrace vulnerability, you can truly live a full life.
Because true strength is never invulnerability, but rather - daring to plant a flower in the rubble.
