Vulnerability

The Courage to Be Seen

A stained-glass artist once showed me a panel she had been working on for several weeks.

From the front, the arrangement looked almost complete.

Deep blues rested beside amber fragments, and thin lines of dark metal held the colored pieces together.

But when she placed a light behind the panel, something unexpected happened.

Several tiny imperfections became visible.

A hairline crack.

An uneven edge.

A place where the glass had not settled quite as she intended.

I asked whether she would replace those pieces.

“Not necessarily,” she said. “I need to understand whether they weaken the work or simply become visible when the light passes through.”

I have often thought about that distinction when considering vulnerability.

We spend considerable time learning how to present ourselves.

We develop ways of speaking that protect our uncertainty.

We learn when to appear confident, when to conceal disappointment, and how to respond without revealing too much.

Some of these abilities are necessary.