In a group of like-minded people, I talked about experiences that were very intense and also a little scary for me. I don't want to go into the details here. What's more important for this story is how I experienced the reactions: people listened to me openly and curiously. As I told my story, I cried profusely and could hardly speak. Instead of comforting me or distracting me, the listeners endured and waited until I could continue. This helped me to show myself so openly—and in this case, also vulnerable. Another person then picked up on what I had told and shared a similar story about themselves. My openness opened the space for further openness. I found that very valuable.
