Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed.
Let's begin by settling the mind and the body.
Find a comfortable position.
Either sitting upright or lying down.
And if you haven't already,
Lightly close your eyes.
Place your palms upwards.
And open yourself to this moment.
Take a deep breath in.
And a slow breath out.
Once more,
Take a deep,
Slow breath,
Filling your lungs completely.
Hold for just a moment.
And release.
Letting go of everything with that breath.
Keep breathing slowly and deeply.
Inhaling calm.
And exhaling frustration.
Inhaling space.
And exhaling the weight of feeling unheard.
Let your breath settle into a natural,
Gentle rhythm.
Before we go any further.
I want you to know that what you are feeling is real.
The loneliness of speaking and not feeling truly heard.
One of sharing something that matters to you and watching it get deflected,
Minimised or simply passed over.
Of feeling invisible to the one person who should know you the best.
That is one of the loneliest feelings there is.
And if you've been carrying this for a while.
Through repeated conversations that haven't landed or through frustration that has slowly built into something much bigger.
I want you to know that it makes complete sense that you are feeling this way.
Your voice matters.
How you feel matters.
And you need to be heard.
It's not too much.
It's not unreasonable.
It is one of the most fundamental human needs there is.
So let's just sit with that for a moment.
You're not invisible.
You're not too sensitive.
And you're not asking for too much.
I'd like to offer you something that might feel a little hard to hear at first.
But I share this with warmth and with care.
When someone we love consistently deflects,
Changes the subject.
Or seems unable to really listen.
It's rarely because they don't care.
But more often,
It's a coping mechanism.
A way of managing their own discomfort.
Their own fear.
And their own inability to sit with difficult feelings.
It doesn't make it okay.
But it does mean that their behaviour is very often not a reflection of how much you matter to them.
Let that land gently.
I also want to wonder something gently with you.
What if there was a way to approach this a little differently?
Not changing what you need to say.
Not making yourself smaller or letting go of what really matters to you.
But just a way of softening it.
Sometimes the people we love find it hard to listen.
Not because they don't care.
But because something in the way the conversation opens.
Puts them on the defense before it's even begun.
It's not your fault.
And it's not always about you.
But it is worth considering.
Is there a time of day when they seem more open?
Or a way of beginning the conversation that feels less like confrontation and more like an invitation.
A moment when the conditions are just a little more right.
You don't have to have all of the answers right now.
Just hold the questions gently.
Because sometimes a small shift in the approach creates a completely different conversation.
And in the meantime,
Know this.
You are heard here in this moment.
Everything you've been feeling,
The frustration,
The loneliness,
The weariness of trying,
I see it.
And it's valid.
All of it.
Take a few slow,
Deep breaths now.
Feel the tension in your body beginning to soften.
Feel the weight of feeling unheard beginning to lift,
Just a little.
You are not alone in this.
You are not too much.
And you deserve to be heard.
Truly hurt.
By the person you love.
As you prepare to return to the world,
Set one quiet intention.
Just a gentle decision to look for one moment.
One small opening.
Where connection may be possible.
A moment where you can speak.
And they may just be ready to listen.
Trust that those moments exist.
And trust that you have the patience and the strength to find them.
Breathe that in.
And breathe it out.
When you're ready,
Rub your hands together until you feel the warmth between your palms.
Place them gently over your eyes.
And slowly in your own time.
Open your eyes and remove your hands.
Returning to the world a little later.
A little steadier.
Are in carrying with you a quiet knowledge.
That your voice matters.
Your feelings are valid.
And you are worthy of being truly heard.
