Quotes About Vulnerability

want the benefits of intimacy without the risks of transparency. So our lives are always made up of games of hide-and-seek. We want to be found and yet we want to hide from the consequences of being found. Intimacy is the license that you give to someone else to hurt you the most.

We're desperate to be truly known by others; yet we go to incredible lengths to hide who we really are. We say we want truth, then rationalize it away when it gets too personal.

I wish I felt brave." "Do you know how a brave person feels?" "How?" "Scared.

but by and large ITS proved that the best security was no security at all.

A large key is not a guarantee of security," says Hellman, "but a small key is a guarantee of insecurity.

The Doctor: Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink.

We are all members of the same flawed species. Putting our moral vision into practice means imposing our will on others. The human lust for power and esteem, coupled with its vulnerability to self-deception and self-righteousness, makes that an invitation to a calamity, all the worse when the power is directed at a goal as quixotic as eradicating human self-interest.

There's a fine line between being practical and being a candyass, which is a word that my father used to describe someone whom he considered to be the opposite of tough. ... Because I'm very afraid of becoming a candyass, I'll sometimes do things that I know to be impractical just so I don't have to worry about being a candyass.

Still, Marcus was acutely aware that he served at Hadrian's pleasure. In a state ruled absolutely by one man, no matter how enlightened that man might be, every other man was at his mercy.

I'm very comfortable with failure. I'm very comfortable being the guy who disappoints people.

When you have no one in your life who you can call and say, "I'm scared," then your life is unfulfilling. You need somebody you can trust enough to say, "I need help."

She wanted to go over and hug his tears away, but she was too frightened.

I am pretty fearless, and you know why? Because I don't handle fear very well I'm not a good terrified person.

if the Net is so crucial, what happens if the Net goes down? It may have to go down a few times before we learn how to defend it properly, before we catch on that civilization depends on it for survival.

My partner had made perhaps ten strokes before the sap rose within him and he fell upon my back, smothering me like a collapsing building.

Late in life, after his mother had died, his father cried at baptisms and funerals and sappy movies on TV, age stripping away a final protective layer. Now Henry could feel the same softening taking place inside him, a helpless grief for the past and boundless pity for the world, and that was right too. No fool like an old fool.

She had that rare quality: the courage to show love

Quite suddenly, he is moved. And he sees that the son is moved, too. To keep their emotions alive, the father pours them both another shot. He doesn't want to make the son drunk. He just wants to make him beautiful. And anyone who is moved is beautiful. He is already beautiful. He has beautiful moist eyes. His cheeks are flushed, and his lips are silky. And when they toasted the fourth time, he is even gentler. And when he speaks, he speaks so beautifully.

When she enters the room she immediately shuts the window and draws the shade with a quick, hard pull. Then she throws herself down on the bed, and the sobbing starts all over again. It's as if she can't sob when she's not in a lying position - either that or she has to start sobbing the moment she lies down.

It's a big enough umbrella, but it's always me that ends up getting wet.

In his heart, he was aware of just how vulnerable he was, and that Othman knew that. He had dared to believe he was different, that a new, stronger self had awakened within him, but it was newborn and fragile. This man, this creature was more than a match for him.

Impulsively, I reached out to touch him him, even though I knew such action would evaporate his fragile corporeality. My hand touched silky hair, felt the hardness of skull beneath. I pulled away, gasping, drawing up my knees. This was too real.

Letiel put her hand on his arm, and smiled at him. He could feel her empathy. She too had been let down by men. How odd to find this affinity. He hadn't thought of that.

Above Verity and Daniel, in the lounge of Low Mede, Peveral Othman watched Barbara and Louis make love on the rug before the log-effect gas fire. He took some satisfaction from their relief, from Louis' almost tearful gratitude for the body he now inhabited. Othman felt he should go and visit the Winters, although for some reason, he felt compelled to stay at Low Mede. He knew he would feel vulnerable beyond the walls. He was not strong enough at the moment to control Lily and Owen.