Hi everyone,
A couple of weeks ago, my colleagues and I started a small book club and our first book was “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead” by Brené Brown. I have seen her famous Ted Talk before and I was aware of her key points, but I have never read the book itself. First of all, I would like to mention that reading a book the traditional way was a great experience after many years of consuming information digitally. Secondly, going through the pages, the following phrase got stuck with me for a while and I reflected for quite some time. Also, this was the phrase that I chose to read the next day to my colleagues and to point out as a moment of food for thought.
“Like many of the folks drawn to social work, I liked the idea of fixing people and people and systems. By the time I was done with my bachelor’s degree and was finishing my master’s degree, though, I had realized that social work wasn’t about fixing. It was and is all about contextualizing and “leaning in”. Social work is all about leaning into the discomfort of ambiguity and uncertainty, and holding open an empathic space so people can find their own way. In a word –messy” (pages 7-8).
During my studies, Master’s in Gender Studies: Intersectionality and Change, I had the opportunity to collaborate with many non-profit organisations and to experience youth and social work. It was such a big chapter of my life and the best lesson I have learned is that cultivating an empathetic perspective is a very challenging skill and not highly appreciated in this fast-paced world. The studies though and working with actual humans taught me that no matter how hard it is to be an empath and to show vulnerability it is messy for sure, but at the same time, it is very rewarding due to the connections made with others. I really believe that we connect deeper when we are at our most vulnerable place because this is a part of our genuine selves.
Therefore, overall, I am looking forward to continuing to read the next chapters and getting more inspiration from the book.
I hope you have found some useful information in my blog post and comment if there are any questions you may have that I haven’t included in my article.
Looking forward to having you around for my next blog post!
All the best,
M.
