Lean and Be Leaned On

Article · May 11, 2026

Leaning is a coupling-bid: every time we reach for help, we're asking another nervous system to help calibrate ours. Drawing on Ed Tronick's Still-Face and Power of Discord research, this post argues that the deepest bonds form not through smooth harmony but through rupture-and-repair cycles where weight is placed and the relationship holds through the breach. Smooth doesn't deepen; leaning does.