Vulnerability can be inviting others to join you on the journey

In our staff meetings this month at Fulling Management & Accounting, Inc., we have been listening to Liz Forkin Bohannon share the value of community. One stat she shared “78% of young people in the U.S. feel lonely.”  Engaging in community is often an act of intentionality and vulnerability.

This weekend my friend Dan Jacobsen invited me to join him for the Head for the Cure Foundation 5K to raise money for brain tumor and cancer research. Dan’s 9-year-old son Miles was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor earlier this year.

When I arrived at the event, I was blown away at the atmosphere. Not only were there over 100 people wearing “Miles for Miles” T-shirts in celebration of Miles, but thousands of people were there to support their own family and friends going through very similar challenges.

What was so impressive is that in the midst of medical uncertainties and personal challenges, there was a sense of celebration and most of all community. No one was there to do this alone.

Yes, vulnerability sometimes means going first or even inviting others to join you on the journey.

Towards the end of the event, the emcee shared Miles’s story and how he has been an inspiration to caregivers and friends along the way. What an amazing example of leading well through vulnerability.