The best way I can describe holding space is to maintain focus and pay attention to where people are at, what they might need, and what the mood or energy is like in a group.
What it means to hold space
What it means to be a woman
“We need more strong women—show yourselves.” That, or something similar, was a post on Threads by Maxim Mankevich some time ago. Actually, it was well-intentioned, wanting to support women. One would think. And yes, it was definitely well-intentioned, and yet there are more and more nuances showing up here as well.
Loneliness and rootedness
For a long time, I searched for connection without realizing that I was looking in the wrong places. I traveled around the world, searching for it in other cultures and other people. I was uprooted. I was a wanderer. I was like a leaf in the wind. Constantly searching. Constantly looking for a home in someone else or trying to build it there, or building it in such a way that I could leave at any time because it wasn't quite ideal anyway.
Who knows the way?
Everyone says “follow your path,” but where is that path? Who knows it? And whose path is it really?
When we set out to find our own path instead of following the one that has been prepared for us by our environment, opinions about what our path may be are sprouting like mushrooms. Everyone who “only wants the best for us” has an idea in their head about what our path is. And when we hear similar stories from different people about where we should go, we can easily be tempted to believe them. But that can be one of the biggest traps on our path…