You deserve to be heard and seen.

An integral part of Wild Women Hawai‘i is the Sharing Circle.

For some women, this may be their first experience of being witnessed without interruption, advice, or judgment. The circle exists not to fix or solve, but to offer a steady, respectful container where truth can be spoken and received.

We don’t have to solve each other’s problems or be the hero.

Each woman is the authority of her own experience, and our voices have been squashed for too long.

We are not here to rescue one another.

We are not here to analyze or correct.

And we are not here to decide whose pain is valid.

Healing doesn’t come from being told what to do with our stories. It comes from being able to speak them honestly, in our own time, and in a space that can hold them.

The quote below captures this beautifully:

So many people get judged when they refuse to put their pain away. They get judged for showing it, for speaking it, for insisting on sharing their memories of abuse with those they know. I am not talking about those overwhelming strangers with their stuff—I am talking about legitimate sharings with those they are connected with in daily life. All too often, they are fed one repressive message or another: “Don’t look back,” "What’s done is done,” “Don’t be a victim,” “Your feelings are an illusion,” “Be strong.” What is ironic about this is that those who insist on embodying and expressing their feelings are actually the courageous ones—unwilling and unable to live a false life. Their stuff is breaking through their defences because they are tired of carrying the weight of buried truths. They want a healthier and more authentic life. Those who seek to shame their revealings are actually less courageous, turning to repressive mantras in an effort to bypass their own unresolved feelings and memories. If they can shut others down, they can remain shut down themselves. But shut down doesn’t take us anywhere good. If we don’t deal with our stuff, it deals with us. May we all speak our truths, before our buried truths destroy us. Out with the old, in with the true." ~Jeff Brown, Spiritual Graffiti

When we remember and speak, we are not weak. We are courageous.

Wild Women Hawai‘i is rooted in the belief that women deserve spaces where their voices are not rushed, reframed, erased, or dismissed. Where silence is respected. Where presence matters more than performance.

You don’t need to be louder.You don’t need to be stronger.You don’t need to prove your truth or your story.

You deserve to be heard and seen, exactly as you are.

-Michelle

This approach to gathering is embodied in The Hearth Circle.