Really enjoyed this, Ryan. I spent a couple years volunteering for a crisis hotline during another era in my life, and I, too, found the directive not to give advice very transformative. Similarly, the lesson that sometimes all people really need is another human being to bear witness to their struggle was deeply life-affirming. I've actually tried to write about the lessons of my crisis hotline experience but found it really hard to distill in words. You did a great job of this!

Keep up the important work, and thank you for sharing. :)