12/16/2025
Something cosmically changes when you can do this.
In a culture obsessed with nonstop productivity and the glorification of relentless effort, Brené Brown’s reflections offer a much-needed pause. Her work on vulnerability and courage reveals that beyond sheer hustle lies a different kind of power - one rooted in grace. This isn’t about grinding harder or faster but about showing up with honesty, compassion, and presence. Grace opens doors that hustle alone can’t, inviting us into spaces where real connection and transformation happen.
This emphasis on grace as a sustaining force finds a clear resonance in the work of the philosopher and psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray. In ‘To Be Two’, Irigaray explores how relationality, being truly present and responsive to others, forms the foundation of ethical life. She argues that authentic connection requires more than willpower or effort; it demands openness, patience, and a gentle attentiveness that can’t be rushed or forced. This attentiveness is a form of grace, a way of being that cultivates understanding and nurtures growth.
Similarly, the contemporary thinker and psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin, in ‘Beyond Doer and Done To’, examines how mutual recognition and vulnerability create the conditions for genuine dialogue and change. Benjamin shows that power exercised through domination or sheer force, akin to hustle, ultimately fractures relationships. By contrast, power enacted through acknowledgment and respect, which requires a kind of grace, fosters resilience and transformation.
This lesson extends beyond the personal. In politics and social movements, grace can be a radical force. Choosing empathy over anger, patience over immediate victory, and dialogue over division often leads to more lasting change. Such grace requires courage, it’s an active engagement with hardship that refuses to be reduced to mere hustle or brute force.
Ultimately, Brené Brown’s insight invites us to rethink how we navigate life’s challenges. While hustle may fuel ambition, grace sustains it. It teaches us to pause, to listen, and to meet ourselves and others with generosity. In that space, struggle transforms into resilience, and real power emerges - not from the frantic chase but from the calm, steady presence of grace.
IMAGE: BBeargTeam
