Dan, I think this is my favorite article of yours, probably because I have given this a lot of thought and have come to the same conclusions as you. A couple of additional thoughts, if I may.

Vulnerable comes from the Latin word, vulnare, which means to harm. So being vulnerable means able to be harmed. But that doesn’t sound so great. The key to being vulnerable successfully, to acknowledge one’s imperfections and fears, is to be clear about and to have developed one’s inner strength. Vulnerability itself does not create strength. Without inner strength, one WILL be harmed when being vulnerable. There are many sources of inner strength, including our values and characteristics that make us great. Faith is also a source of inner strength, but that’s really connected with one’s values. Reliance on external sources of strength often falls short, though.

The starting point is being able to acknowledge our imperfections and fears, which is what I heard from the gentleman who acknowledged that he may have married the wrong woman.