Why I Chose a Circle (And What It Means for Glad We Talked™)
Why I Chose a Circle (And What It Means for Glad We Talked™)
Written by Yasmin Shaheen-ZaffarWhen I was creating and designing Glad We Talked, every detail mattered – even the small ones. Especially the small ones.
You’ll notice that our menu icon and favicon are both built around a simple circle. In some places, it’s a full black circle. In others, it’s a circle with a small gap.
Both versions carry deep meaning for me and for what Glad We Talked™ stands for.
And because a circle is the simplest of shapes, it also reminds us of the power of simplicity. A single, unbroken line communicating so much with so little: clarity, focus, and ease.
In conversation, in connection – simplicity invites us to strip away the clutter – fewer words, fewer assumptions – so we can hear what really matters and respond from the heart.
The solid circle represents presence – the steady, anchored presence we all crave in conversations. It’s about being here, fully, without rushing to fix or advise.
Yet that same unbroken, black circle can look like a black hole – dense, intense, seeming to swallow everything around it.
We’ve all felt the conversational equivalent: moments when pain or overwhelm feels bottomless – when life hurls us into the darkness without warning, and we suddenly find ourselves falling across an unseen edge, unsure when or where we’ll land.
Presence means daring to stay right at the edge of that gravity – like standing at a black hole’s event horizon – anchored enough to keep from being pulled under, compassionate enough to guide ourselves and each other back into light.
The circle with a small gap represents openness. It’s not a heavy, closed wall – it’s hollow inside, light and spacious.
That hollow space matters. It reminds us that communication and connection needs breathing room – that good listening means allowing pauses, giving space for silence, and letting understanding grow in its own time.
The gap shows that conversations aren’t meant to be perfect – there’s always space for misunderstandings, for moments of rupture, for leaks and, most importantly, for repair.
It’s also the place where cycles can be broken. When we pause inside that opening, we interrupt the momentum of old, unhelpful patterns. That tiny break is an invitation to notice, to choose differently, and to begin a new, healthier way of relating.
The open, hollow form reminds us that connection doesn’t require perfection – it requires presence, patience, and a willingness to stay open even when it’s hard.
And when we stay open long enough, something beautiful happens: we come full circle – back to understanding, back to connection, back to each other. Back home.
But we come back changed, because we allowed the old cycle to break and a new rhythm to form.
Much like the natural circle of life, conversations … connections move through stages: beginnings, middles, pauses, endings, and new beginnings again.
Connection is not static – it’s alive. It breathes, it shifts, it renews itself.
And when we honour that rhythm, we create spaces where true, lasting connection can grow.
In a world that can feel noisy and rushed, with little time for the things that matter – our little circle is a quiet promise:
You can come back.
You can reconnect
You can break the cycle
and still come full circle
Bringing the nervous system back home. I’m so glad we talked.