Quotes About Vulnerability

But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar: it can crumble so easily, but don't be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

Me - I was not born with enough fuel. My anger often melts into sadness, it will just disintegrate into shame or fear, my clenched teeth release into chatter.

And the spaces that he never saw: the ones my parents had labeled private parts when I was still small enough to fit all of my self and worries inside a bathtub, I made up for them by handing over all the private parts of me. There was no secret I did not tell him, there was no moment we did not share. We didn't grow up, we grew in: like ivy wrapping, molding each other into perfect yins and yangs.

The trouble with letting people see you at your worst isn't that they'll remember; it's that you'll remember.

Some people will punish you merely for witnessing their weakness. Even if they sought you out and asked for help. Even if you helped. Especially if you helped.

She acted completely on instinct, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around him. He was unresponsive for a long beat, as though she'd taken him by surprise, then his arms went around her in turn. Her breasts were pressed to his chest and every breath she took was filled with the smell of his aftershave but there was nothing sexual about their embrace. She was offering him a little comfort, and he was accepting it. It was as small and simple as that.

He finished up then shed his clothes and climbed into bed. Turning onto his side, he closed his eyes. As always as he drifted toward sleep, there was a small, forgetful moment where he slid his hand over to touch Billie's back, instinctively seeking reassurance as he hovered on the brink. As always, he found nothing but cold sheets. A few minutes after that, he fell asleep.

Her legs started to tremble and together they went down to the rug. Angie lay spread before him like an impossible offering and every thought, every memory, every consideration dissolved and there was only the need to be inside her, to lose himself in the slick warmth of her, to feel alive and to feel pleasure. He stretched on top of her and her legs spread to accept him. He gripped himself and found her entrance. He slid inside her, into tight, wet heat. And then he really did lose his mind.

She watched as Michael stripped and walked toward the bed, his erection standing proud. The bed dipped as he got in the other side. She rolled toward him, and he pulled her into his arms. His skin was cool against hers, making her nipples bead. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against him, offering him her heat. Offering him everything.

So be afraid. Be angry. Be jealous. Be possessive. Be whatever you need to be. But please, let me come along for the ride. I promise I will hang in there with you. I promise you that there is far, far more good between us than there will ever be bad. I promise you that your heart will always be safe with me. Always. All I ask is that you don't shut me out. Let me walk beside you. Let me be there for you. Let me love you.

Then believe, baby. I promise that if you fall, I will catch you. And I know you'll do the same for me.

Far, far easier to batten down the hatches and lock the world out than take a chance.

Ever after she lived alongside the knowledge that nothing on this earth could protect her completely.

Smallness is subversive, because smallness can creep into smaller places and wreak transformation at the most vulnerable, cellular level. In a time when largeness is threatening to topple us, I wish to remember and praise the beauty of smallness, in order to banish the Goliath of loneliness.

Shame is an odd emotion. It clings to things over which we have no control, like a scent.

Don't make a wall of glass between your play and the people watching. Don't forget they were once children, who enjoyed being read to, or sung to sleep.

Once or twice a day, I am enveloped inside what I like to call the Impenetrable Shield of Melancholy. This shield, it is impenetrable. Hence the name. I cannot speak. And while I can feel myself freeze up, I can't do anything about it.

Mutual Criticism required a member of the group to stand up in front of everybody and listen to the enumeration of his or her faults. The bright side of being that night's subject for criticism was the rare treat at Oneida of being the center of attention. The downside was that everyone you knew and loved was allowed, even encouraged, to look into your eyes and ask, "You know what your problem is?

Sometimes people lie because the truth is too hard to admit.

how hard it was to see strength of spirit trumped by weakness of flesh.

Sometimes I wonder," I said, "if people who are going to tell the truth shouldn't make sure first that they can defend themselves.

In any true life you must go and be exposed outside the small circle that encompasses two or three heads in the same history of love.

He meditated on his weakness.

You see, I understand what it is when the lonely person begins to feel like an animal.