I ran Lana group for my friends and family and here’s what I learned

Call it a soft open.

I got the idea from the restaurant TV show The Bear. [Spoiler alert] In the Season 2 finale, the restaurant finally opens. The dream is brought to life! For the first night, the restaurant is packed with family and friends of the owners and operators. The pressure is on: can the restaurant succeed? Will they impress and nourish their beloveds? Can they handle all the unexpected challenges and deficiencies in their planning?

As one might expect, the soft open is a MESS. And yet many lessons are learned! And ultimately the crew is quite proud.

I ran Lana group for my friends and family, both in-person and online. It was EXCITING, and FUN, and a bit messy, and boy oh boy was I proud.

Things I learned:

1) Talking about Lana is revelatory.

We got deep, man. Uncharted territory. I’ve known my sister my whole life, but I learned things about her that I never knew, just cuz we talked about Lana!

2) Everyone is nervous.

Even though I knew everyone, and many of the attendees knew each other, EVERYONE WAS NERVOUS!!! This is totally normal and to be expected!

3) There’s SO MUCH to talk about.

We came away from the Born to Die: Paradise Edition discussion feeling like we could have spent four weeks on this album alone.

4) We all felt less alone at the end.

It was pretty rad to talk about What We Usually Don’t Talk About and be met with love, curiosity, and acceptance.