The Feeling of Being Truly Heard.

The other evening, I had dinner with three girlfriends. Nothing elaborate, it was just a simple plan to make food and hang out.

But it turned into something deeper.

We ended up sitting by the ocean for hours, eating, listening, and sharing. Not about surface things, but about life. The kind of conversations that crack you open a little in the best way. Vulnerable, honest, calm. Tears fell, and hugs happened.

We’ve each walked such different paths; full of challenges, heartbreaks, joy, healing, growth, pivots, and rebirths. But, the feelings, the inner struggles, the moments of questioning ourselves? So many of them are the same.

And that night, naturally through the flow of the evening, we each shared a few of those chapters with each other. And we each held that space for each other.

No one interrupted.
No one judged.
There were no “you shoulds,” no fixes, no unsolicited opinions.

Just calm compassion.
Just space to be heard.

And it reminded me how rare — and necessary — that kind of presence is.

To feel held in your truth without needing to filter it.
To speak without being “too much” or “too emotional” or “too messy.”
To sit in silence while someone else lets their guard down.

That night also reminded me: finding the right people is imperative to your own healing.

The kind of people who can just sit and listen… without jumping in to fix, to judge, to offer advice you didn’t ask for.

People who hold space instead of holding control.
Who make you feel safe, not scrutinized.

It’s rare. But when you find those people, it’s refreshing.
It feels like the biggest and most relieving exhale.

And in a world that rushes us, corrects us, filters us - being able to just be with people who truly see you?
It’s everything.

By the end of the night, one of the girls said,
“We’ve all lived so many lives in our one life.”
And we all nodded, because it felt true.

There’s more I want to say on that —
about the chapters we’ve lived, the versions of ourselves we’ve outgrown, and the way it all adds up to who we are now.

More on that in my next blog post.