On Wanting to Be Held

There is a kind of holding that asks nothing in return. No performance. No outcome. Just contact, offered without urgency.

It’s rarer than we admit.

Being held this way allows the body to settle. Breath deepens. Muscles soften. Time loosens its grip. It isn’t dramatic, but it’s deeply regulating.

Affection doesn’t always need direction. Sometimes it’s enough to rest in proximity, to share warmth, to let stillness do the work.

I’ve come to value that kind of closeness more with time. It reminds me that connection doesn’t need to prove itself to be real.