I discovered this forum just a few months after turning 17 and remained an active and enthusiastic member for two years. That was back in 2006. And I simply wanted to thank all of you for creating such an amazing community of loving, caring, giving, heart-centered people, thereby not only allowing seventeen-year-old me to find an outlet for my intense and overwhelming emotions, but also enabling me to thrive.
In no other online community have I ever felt so seen, heard and safe. And since I am currently on a path to becoming a somatic practitioner/therapist, I understand the need for creating a safe environment on a much deeper level than I did sixteen years ago.
I feel unbelievably lucky to have found such a unique tribe of supportive, like-minded individuals at such a young age. The fact that the majority of the people here were twice my age, yet always valued my thoughts and opinions, as well as validated my emotions and experiences, is something I have never taken for granted and certainly something I am never going to forget. Not a single one of my extremely long and elaborate posts went uncommented or unacknowledged. You guys really took the time to read the writings of an inexperienced seventeen-year-old and treated her as an equal. Not one single member of this forum has ever been condescending or rude - gentleness, softness, openness, warmth and curiosity reigned supreme, with love being the forum's currency. Our differences united us. And I find that endlessly humbling and beautiful.
Thank you Ethan for creating this amazing forum, thanks to all the moderators and to everyone who has ever shared a piece of themselves here. You could not have found a safer and more loving space to do so.