Have you given your permission to feel and allow to someone to be your safe place outside of your family? The speaker from Chai Beauty shares a heartfelt personal story about discovering the significance of touch during a stressful period in college. Initially uncomfortable with physical touch, they recount an emotional experience with a chaplain who provided comfort through a hug, highlighting how touch can offer profound safety and connection beyond words. They encourage viewers to find similar solace with someone they trust.
The Profound Comfort of Touch: A Heartfelt Reflection
In this heartfelt episode of Chai Beauty, our host delves into the profound impact of touch, especially for those who are not naturally 'touchy-feely.' Reflecting on a poignant college memory, the host recounts a moment of intense stress and the unexpected comfort provided by a chaplain's empathetic embrace. This introspective narrative highlights how touch can go beyond words, providing deep emotional connection and safety, even with those outside of one's immediate family. Join us in exploring the essential, yet sometimes overlooked, power of physical connection and its ability to offer unparalleled comfort.
00:00 Welcome to Chai Beauty
00:40 The Power of Touch
01:16 A Moment of Comfort
03:02 The Deep Resonance of Touch
03:40 Finding Safety in Others
Hi! I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Chai Beauty. Where I get to share my thoughts, my dreams, my aspirations, my visions for the future. And guess what? You get to be along for this journey. Because we are in this together.
I'm going to be honest; touch is kind of hard for me. Cause I'm not a touchy-feely person. But I had to sit back and think about the feeling of touch. And one of the things I can remember is, in my college days, I was really stressed. Mental health wasn't popular. Um, but I just got overwhelmed and I cried. Like, cried.
And I went to a school that had a chaplain. And I remember crying, feeling overwhelmed, and walking into her, um, her space where she had office hours, not saying a word, continuing to boohoo. And she didn't touch me at first, and she finally said, can I touch you? And I said, yes. While hiccupping, and, and stress, and feeling like my life is over, I'm not equipped to even do the things that I'm doing.
And she hugged me, and for the first time, I got safety from someone outside of my house. So, when I think about touch, I think about not my mom and my dad, but like people that genuinely got to know me, and over time we created space that they would touch me, as in giving a hug, patting me on the knee, saying like it's going to be okay, to just looking at me, and making very good eye contact, and saying, hey.
And so that was important to me in that season because I didn't need words of affirmation. I didn't even need quality time. I needed somebody to touch me and give me comfort in a way I never got comfort before. And as I thought, I thought of touch as comfort. A way to connect.And... To experience something that you can't put in words.
Because if I try to communicate, touch, it's like somebody empathizes and sympathizes with me. And that feeling and that touch resonated so deeply in my soul that I can remember this moment. Five or ten years later, because I was just safe. And as I continue to learn about touch, and how it works, I hope that.