Deep Conversation on Our Parents- Who's the inner child who survived everything?

Thanks to everyone who joined us for January's meet. Time to continue our streak of deep conversation series and the next topic is: Our Parents and Who is the inner child who survived everything?

When a child is born, parents are the only truth in the world.
The first bond.
The first teachers.
The first providers of comfort, safety, happiness, and survival.
The first source of all that's good and bad.

There is no other reference point.

As we grow and begin to move toward independence, that bond does not simply disappear. It changes form.

We may no longer depend on our parents in obvious ways, yet their influence often remains:
in seeking their approval,
their validation,
their advice and mentorship,
their emotional or financial support.

Sometimes subtly. Sometimes decisively.

Consciously or unconsciously, we shape our lives to fit a world where that approval still matters.

But at some point, most of us arrive at our first real conflict,
when where we want to go is different from where they want us to go,
when how we see the world no longer matches their perspective,
when our goals and aspirations fall outside their realm of understanding or approval.

This creates a quiet dissonance.

We begin to live two lives
one on the outside, shaped for acceptance,
and one on the inside, holding our unexpressed truth.

Then comes another moment, often more unsettling.
We witness a decision our parents made for us or a belief they held, that turn out to be plainly wrong.

And with that comes disbelief and realization that our parents are fallible and ordinary and they do not know everything.

The unshakable trust we placed in their worldview was not always grounded in accuracy.

Another boundary breaks.

And yet, the inner child who learned to survive in their world, the one who learned how to adapt, comply, resist, or perform and the cognitively developed adult who now seeks freedom, truth, and self-direction, remain bound together.

At the same time, a role reversal begins to unfold.

Our parents age. They begin to rely on us - emotionally first, and eventually physically for safety, support, and survival. A role change few of us are prepared for.

So we are left navigating multiple layers at once:
the inner child who learned how to belong in their world,
the adult who wants to chart their own path in the new world,
the internalized parents who still live within us,
and the real parents who now stand before us, older and more vulnerable.

So, some of the questions that inevitably arise are:
Who is the inner child that started this journey and survived?
And as our relationship with our parents and ourselves continues to change, how do we learn to live with honesty and compassion?

As always, this will be a small, intimate gathering - a chance to stare into the abyss together one more time and create a space for real conversation and acceptance.

📍 Meeting Point: Entrance of Göta Arkhuset, Medborgarplatsen 25 (same as last time). Its 2 minute walk from Medborgarplatsen t-bana.

⏳ The building is closed on weekends, but I have access. I’ll be waiting outside the building to receive you — please arrive at least 10 minutes early at 13:20. Doors will close at 13:40 sharp.

☕ We’ll have coffee, tea, fruits, Doritos, and some chocolate in the space. No need to bring anything.

Looking forward to another raw and enlightening discussion. See you soon. 🙏