In recent months, I did a container with my friend Marei. I helped her with something, and she helped me with something.
For my end, we worked on needs.
Clarifying what my needs are, how to meet them, how to relate to them.
I learned that I have needs.
Some needs are straightforward and clear. I need to eat food, and I need to sleep. I need to enjoy my life. I need to live in a way that I’m proud of.
Other needs are less legible, or harder to explain.
Some needs are universal human needs, and other needs are more idiosyncratic to me in particular. I need to embody Love, Curiosity, and Empowerment. I need to steer The Service Guild.
Some needs are needs I’ll have throughout my life, and other needs are more contextual.
I learned that it’s my responsibility to meet my own needs.
I can ask people to help me meet my needs, and they will often want to help, but at the end of the day, it’s on me.
I learned that it can be helpful to frame my behavior or boundaries in terms of my needs.
I learned a lot from talking to Marei about my needs; from hearing how she thought about them, or seeing how she met her own needs.
And I learned a lot from putting what she shared with me into practice.
I can’t explain all of it. Some of it is hard to put into words, or I haven’t yet found words for it.
What I have written here sounds very obvious and simple to me. But it has been very powerful.
I’m grateful for Marei’s help.
I’m glad I’m learning to meet my needs.