An English poet & novelist once wrote,
“Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.”[1]
― Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, A Life For A Life (1859)
Recently, when I first came across this quote, I was profoundly enchanted by it. It spoke to a hunger so many people carry, including myself - a hunger for that perfect friendship, an antidote to loneliness and alienation, a deep trust in someone else’s caring, and a place of protection in an often unsafe world. Yes, a place where we can feel safe, can belong.
