Awareness Quote by May Sarton
“When we speak of being vulnerable, it suggests being especially vulnerable to pain. People for whom personal dignity and self-sufficiency are everything, do all they can to shut it out. Noli mi tangere. They are well aware that any intimate relationship has pain in it, forces a special kind of awareness, is costly, and so they try to keep themselves unencumbered by shutting pain out as far as it is possible to do so.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Gift of Vulnerability, 1975
She explains that vulnerability invites pain, so people often block it to protect dignity, though this limits deep connections.
In simple terms: People avoid pain by shutting down vulnerability.
Key Takeaway
Allow yourself to feel and connect despite risk.
Themes
vulnerability
pain
dignity
connection
Mood
introspective
empathetic
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- therapy sessions
- close relationships
- creative collaboration
- self‑reflection
Key Concepts
emotional risk
self‑protection
intimacy
Questions to Reflect On
- What would change if you welcomed vulnerability?
- How can you balance self‑sufficiency with openness?
A Different Perspective
May ignores the growth that can come from embracing pain.
![“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s self. Everything in the worldly life is nothing but intoxication. The food is intoxicating, the senses are intoxicating. [Therefore] Go to the one, who…” quote by Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2b3/dada-bhagwan-31_absolute_in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-into_3662.jpg)
