Girl Therapy: The Healing Power of Showing Up
Recently, I spent an evening at a cocktail-making class with friends. We learned how to mix drinks, laughed at our creations, and enjoyed a few hours away from our everyday responsibilities.
On my drive home that night, I realized the evening wasn't just learning about cocktails, it was symbolic of adult friendship. The kind of friendship that grows with you through different seasons of life. That survives moves, marriages, children, careers, heartbreak, and all the things that make adulthood so busy.
One of the women I've known since I was a child. The other I've known since I was a young adult. Together, we're part of a small group friendship group who have somehow managed to stay connected despite the demands of real life.
It’s the kind of connection doesn't happen by accident.
Like many friendships in adulthood, we've had to learn a new way of showing up for each other. The days when everyone is available at the same time with a simple text message are behind us. Now there are work schedules, family commitments, sick kids, vacations, sports practices, and a hundred other responsibilities competing for our attention.
The healing power of friendship
"Healing doesn't always happen in solitude. Sometimes it happens in the company of people who remind you who you are."
So, we have a simple guiding principle: The invitation is always extended. Whoever can make it, comes. Whoever can't, is missed but never guilted.
No pressure. No scorekeeping. No hurt feelings. Just grace.
I believe that's one of the reasons our friendship has endured this phase of life. We've stopped expecting perfection and started appreciating presence.
For years, my healing journey focused on learning how to be alone, trust myself and create peace within my own life. But healing isn't only about independence. It also happens in community; while sitting with those who have witnessed different versions of you throughout your life.
Friends who remember who you were before the heartbreak, celebrate who you're becoming and who can laugh with you about things no one else would understand.
As I've gotten older, I've realized that friendship isn't a luxury, but a part of what it takes to THRIVE.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the people who continue to choose connection despite busy lives and competing priorities.
Over cocktails and dinner, I remembered that some of the most meaningful moments in life aren't the big milestones we photograph and post about. They're the ordinary nights with close friends with good conversation and a lot of laughter. And the quiet realization that you're surrounded by people who make life a little lighter.
Journal prompts
Which friendships have stood the test of time in your life?
Have you been expecting perfection from your friendships instead of connection?
How can you extend more grace, to yourself and others, in this season?
