Belonging Without Masks

Do you have people in your life who truly see you?

As someone who spent much of my life feeling like an outsider... like I didn’t quite belong, it feels pretty special to be seen by my beautiful friends and community.

I wanted to share what it feels like to be truly seen and understood: It feels like a bursting in your chest, where love overflows and spills out into the world. Like a sparkling light pouring out of you. Like your whole body expanding tenfold. Your mind becoming clearer than it’s ever been. Feeling so present and alive in the moment. The warmth inside you glowing like a campfire. A tingle spreading across your skin. A giant, releasing sigh. It feels like peace and safety.

For so long, I wore masks. I shaped myself into who I thought others wanted me to be. People-pleasing, hiding the parts of me that felt too messy, too much, too tender.

Being seen, truly seen, without needing to shrink, edit, or perform... is one of the greatest gifts I have ever experienced. It feels so freeing.

I feel so lucky to have people in my life who I can reveal everything to. People I can be raw with. Silly with. Messy with. People who welcome the parts of me I once tried to hide, and love me even more for it. It’s freedom. Pleasure. And I wouldn't have these relationships if I had stayed in the safety of patterns and behaviours of trying to fit in and people-pleasing. It's scary to let the masks fall away, revealing parts you have shamed and you are scared others will not accept but it is worth it to have real relationships where you can be the fully unfiltered version of yourself.

✨ What does it feel like in your body when you feel seen?

✨ Is there a moment you remember when someone really, truly saw you?