Quotes About Vulnerability

And in the night, when my coughing was dry and tough, feet padded into the room, hands repinned the flannel, readjusted the quilt, and rested a moment on my forehead. So when I think of autumn, I think of somebody with hands who does not want me to die.

I've broken an arm before, but no one wanted to shoot me!' Suzie says. 'I mean, when you go to the emergency room I hope to God the doctors don't decide it might cost too much to care for.' -Suzie Schwab co-owner of East Maui Animal Refuge

Until we say the truth, there can be no tenderness. As long as there is desire, we will not be safe

So much of what I love about poetry lies in the vast possibilities of voice, the spectacular range of idiosyncratic flavors that can be embedded in a particular human voice reporting from the field. One beautiful axis of voice is the one that runs between vulnerability and detachment, between 'It hurts to be alive' and 'I can see a million miles from here.' A good poetic voice can do both at once.

We have entered an age of insecurity—economic insecurity, physical insecurity, political insecurity.

Insecurity breeds fear. And fear—fear of change, fear of

Oh Christ, I just wanted you to fuck me. And then I became greedy, I wanted you to love me.

Nance is funny that way. She likes women her own size--like your sister. She knows where she is with a woman like Martha. Whereas Molly--she's so--well, so full of life, she makes Nance feel even sicker.

It was like being a sheep wandering into a pack of wolves./ A unilateral... fear of the unknown.

I'm scared!!/ But it means I want to live!!

I cried out.../ ...A cry like both a baby's first and a dying man's last.../ ...in a voiceless voice.

Starke, release me or I'll kick you in the balls." And that would hurt, given the current rock-hard state of that area.

Sweetheart, if it's not too much of an imposition, I would be forever beholden to you if you could kindly assume a reclining position so I can screw your brains out.

I probably shouldn't trust you. But for some reason, I do. She climbed out of the car, and instantly his entire body wakened to her proximity. You're right, he whispered, lifting a hand to touch her cheek. You shouldn't trust me at all.

Depicting yourself as a whole person on the page doesn't only mean recognizing your role in a bad situation. It means being emotionally authentic. It means showing all of yourself: the shameful parts, the embarrassing parts, the parts that you might regret or that you wish weren't true.

When your ability to determine what is real is taken away by a drug, it's terrifying. But it's far worse when it's denied to you by other people.

If you think it'd not work to stay steady, to remain present, to not pull back in the face of terrible suffering, then you have never been in the face of terrible suffering. It's something I've failed at. I try not to flinch, I try not to be overwhelmed, I try not to run away. But I have.

Because that's what secrets are about—shame. Shame, along with the belief that keeping a secret will protect you or someone else, comes from the idea that there is some part of us so monstrous, so terrible, so inhuman, that it must not be known.

most of life, you can be weak inside and get through by putting on a tough outer shell. But if you work in hospice, you have to stay soft on the outside. So in order to stand up straight, you have to have a spine of steel. Two ways to go through the world, two ways to deal with the loss that is an inevitable experience in life—with a hard shell or with a rock-solid backbone.

No, really," said Jack, blushing to show that he wasn't embarrassed at all. "Do

You know what? We need to talk about this. I'm glad you asked the question. Thank you for taking that risk. I appreciate the trust it shows in me.

When it comes to risky, controversial, and emotional conversations, skilled people find a way to get all relevant information (from themselves and others) out into the open.

That's what acting is - it's about... having the courage to allow your audience into the private moments of your characters' lives.

I am co-writing a screenplay now and I'm working on the rights to another story I want to do. So I plan to produce and direct. So, for me, I don't really feel that I am vulnerable to that sad baggage that comes with the business of filmmaking.