...and spiritual blackmail ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
| Hi John! This week's newsletter has a very clear theme. One that came up a lot in your responses to last week's newsletter: Vulnerability. I believe that vulnerability is an art and I want to talk more about it. But first... In this week's email: Cartoon: I confess... 🧎♀️
Dad Joke: Who burnt dinner? 🥵
Video: Fear mongering ⛪️
Post: A tribute to Sinéad 💔
Original: Neither here nor there 👀 |
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| SPIRITUAL BLACKMAIL
Do you struggle to be vulnerable and transparent? In confession, we were encouraged to be vulnerable in order to secure a place in the community. But, soon, we discovered that this also meant people knew our weaknesses and our struggles, including those in leadership. We trusted them with our vulnerability, and that trust was betrayed for many of us. I believe in vulnerability. I try to practice it myself. You should too. This cartoon is available for digital download here. |
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| I burned 2000 calories today. I left my food in the oven for too long. |
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| What if I told you that the church invented things to make you afraid? I recorded a quick video explaining this a little bit more. Watch it here. |
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| We are not there, nor there. We are not black or white, but somewhere in the grey. Not midday or midnight. But mid-light. Dawn. Dusk. Some light. But not all. Some darkness. But not all. This week's original painting is called You Can Find Me In Between. I hope you love it. |
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| Let’s talk about being vulnerable... |
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| For many people, vulnerability is scary. For them, vulnerability means making oneself an easy target for ridicule, rejection, and even abuse. Which is why vulnerability in religious contexts feels very risky. And from experience and observation, this risk is real. I was always encouraged to be vulnerable and transparent. Confession, for example, was lauded as the best way to ensure one’s personal spiritual health and secure one's place in the community. But, soon, we discovered that this also meant people knew our weaknesses and our struggles, including those in leadership. We trusted people with personal information. Delicate and possibly damaging personal information! For many of us, this trust was betrayed when our struggles were weaponized and used against us. I believe in vulnerability. I try to practice it myself. But I have learned that I need to be careful where I am vulnerable, and with whom, and to what extent. Even though religion taught me about vulnerability, it used it against me. Now, I use what I learned about vulnerability but practice it wisely. Was your vulnerability betrayed? |
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| “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage.” — Brené Brown |
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| I want to end this newsletter with two thank yous: 1. Thank you to everyone who sent thoughtful responses to last week's email. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you. 2. Thank you for sharing so vulnerably with our community. When you comment and engage on my posts or YouTube videos, you're creating a space for other people to get vulnerable and start healing. Much love, my friends! David |
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