In a culture that often overcorrects toward independence, we are quick to tell people, "Celebrate yourself." And yes, self-celebration matters. Self-witness matters. A person should be able to look at what they built, survived, completed, released, or became and say, "I see what this required of me." But self-celebration does not cancel the human need to be witnessed by safe others. That is not weakness. That is design.

because the body needs to stay nourished. We have desire because life keeps reaching toward connection, intimacy, pleasure, creation, and continuation. These drives are not flaws in us. They are not something to be ashamed of. They are part of the design of being human. But underneath the drives we know how to name, I think there is another appetite we do not talk about enough. An emotional appetite.