The healing power of women

Deep in the heart of every woman is the desire to connect with her girlfriends. To share her joys, fears, and dreams. To be vulnerable, and to be seen. While other relationships often seem more urgent – in our roles as mothers, wives, daughters, you name it – we often put our girlfriend relationships on the back burner. “One day,” we tell ourselves. “If only we could find a night that works for our schedules,” we say, as we put off these interactions for weeks, months, even years.

I’m just as guilty of this as anyone. I’m a wife, a business owner, a mom, and a daughter. Any extra time I can squeeze into the day gets directed toward maybe a walk in the neighborhood, a ride on the Peloton, or a podcast I’ve been meaning to sketch out. 

And then a couple of weeks ago, I got to host my B.O.L.D. clients for a retreat at Canyon Ranch. (You can read about that incredible trip here.) And while it wasn’t designed as a “girls trip” – these women came together through my VIP mastermind cohort because they have big dreams, businesses, and careers – these precious couple of days each year have come to serve as a reprieve from pressures and stresses. While far away from our everyday lives, we have time to laugh, cry, and share struggles both big and small. Whether we were a girls trip or a mastermind cohort, from the outside you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

And those giggles, y’all. Our stomachs hurt from the amount of silly laughter we had about everything from high ropes course bloopers to spirit animal sightings to bullfrog noises. Inside jokes, all of them. “You had to be there.” We’ve all had those experiences before – they are just purely life-giving. They remind us of who we are, even under all that responsibility we carry each day.

One evening, a member of our group shared that she typically prefers to be alone when she has extra time – she calls it self-care or solace, or even just some extra time to buzz through her to-do list. But in reality, she, like most of us, believes that she needs to take time to heal her own wounds. Whether she’s simply tired, lonely, or overwhelmed, a good hour to herself will fix it. 

But this weekend surrounded by women reminded her that she actually didn’t have to go at it alone. She could lean on other women, and others would lean on her in return. They could help each other heal. And that felt really good.

So don’t forget to seek some of that healing power for yourself from the important women in your life. Go get the cup of coffee. Make the dinner reservation. Take the girls trip. Giggle until your stomach hurts. You deserve every bit of it.