This is such a beautiful invitation to reconnect with curiosity, Sarah. And I’m curious about your memoir. It’s going to be lovely to order it when it’s ready. I saw myself in your description of writing everything down, the easy and the tough, then re-reading and realising that sometimes it’s just for yourself. Also, the comfort that it’s down on paper and you needn’t think about it anymore. It’s such a beautiful process 🤍
Thank you for having my poem in this beautiful letter, Sarah. ✨
It’s been a real process of adding and subtracting! And leaving things out feels empowering. Realising I don’t have to lay myself bare to be understood?
Thanks for letting me publish it. Such a lovely reminder in this season of shedding 🍂
Exactly, I really thought I needed to be raw to be understood. And sometimes finding a way to write about the raw middle without having to describe it. 🍁
A beautiful invitation around the waning Gibbous moon to consider what we are ready to let go of, Sarah. I took this quite literally this week and shared some really unpoetic pics with my members over in Chat of some stuff that's been sitting in my garden for two years following roof repairs. I've walked past these remnants every day; probably weeded round them in all honesty! The other day, it was the work of mere moments to deal with them. Loving seeing their similar pics and hearing their stories of shedding!
On a more spiritual level, this Sunday marks a week since we said a final goodbye to my dad. He died last June, but we were somewhat slow in scattering the ashes. Done now, and also feeling that I was ready to do it. Maybe I wouldn't have been last year?
Do you know, I used to follow moon cycles so closely but have fallen out of the habit. It’s a ritual I’d like to return to 🌙
And thank you for opening up about this anniversary. I still have my son’s ashes and can appreciate that feeling of not being ready to let go. We talked about releasing them on Bamburgh beach over winter. He was due then and would have turned 7 this December had he carried on growing to term. It was the first beach we took my daughter to, and she asked if we can take her littlest brother soon, so it feels right somehow.
Sarah, I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you for telling me about your son. I think that your daughter asking to take her wee brother to Bamburgh sounds like a beautiful sign, but I so appreciate the difficulty in taking that final step. What a lovely thing, to have that special place where you can reflect together as the years unfold. Sending much love to you on what, I hope, is a slow Sunday. It is for us here in Glasgow. x
Thank you for this very nurturing note Sarah. I loved the reminder that when drafting, often what we leave out is as important as what we choose to keep. It reminded me of learning about negative space around objects in art etc, leaving space for what’s left there to really sing!
Thanks also for the beautiful prompts for curiosity. I love seeing it in my children and am so keen for them to remain this way as I don’t think questions/curiosity/opinions were encouraged enough when I was growing up. Hopefully it will also be a healing and learning for me! xx
You are so right about the lack of encouragement around questioning. ‘Seen and not heard’ springs to mind. Though, much like my eldest, I often let my opinion be known 😂
And yes to negative space. That’s a really good way of describing it 💛
I’m looking forward to listening to your playlist! Thank you! And that poem is lovely.
I’m letting go of a lot of old narratives around my work and my business at the moment. As I prepare for ‘launching’ something for the first time in a while I am feeling ready to face a lot of my fears around rejection and re-write that story in a more loving way. It feels quite big!!! Xxx
I’m trying to let go of some of the stories I tell myself too. I seem to be questioning my relevance at the moment, I think because I’m soon to return to work and on the cusp of turning 40.
If you’re curious to read more about rejection check out Liz Mosley who did a rejection challenge. It prompted me to start my own little challenge of sorts.
Oh thank you so much - going to read that now!!! Returning to work after some time off... especially when you have birthed a whole new person (well two in fact because you of course are born new as well) is huge, and I think brings up all sorts of tenderness. I hope you can gently let them loosen their grip. xxx
Lots of 'letting go' here as we adjust to living as a family of three with our eldest son now away at Uni. It's been a huge journey for me and a realisation that my son is learning to stand on his own two feet. I'm trying to resist the urge to check constantly for messages from him and remind myself that we are learning to navigate this new phase in our lives.
Oh that’s such a huge transition, Louise! My eldest is 8 going on 18 and I already find myself wondering what life will be like without her at home. What an amazing opportunity for him though. Go easy on yourself in these early days 💛
This was a beautiful read Sarah. I will checkout your playlist when I have some childcare this week in order to get some rest bite and opportunity to allow some spaciousness for creativity to flow again.
I am letting go of all the things I was told about who I am supposed to be (and the list is long!). I’ve just turned 39, so there is a bit of mid life unraveling/unfolding going on. I am letting go of the limiting belief that mental health or chronic illness should hold me back; that I’m being lazy and unproductive if I’m resting and I’m always, little by little, letting go of the old idea that it’s too late to be a creative and live my life in the way that I am now imagining it. Writing, reading and painting as well as other spiritual and seasonal practices are essential for my foundations - from there I am a better, more loving person and in turn a better partner, mother, friend and so on.
Would love to know more about the memoir you’re writing....📚🖊️
The memoir! Well, I’m 18 months in now and it’s been an interesting ride. I’d like to make space to write about it here but it may need to be its own Substack. Not sure I have the energy for that at the moment!
This is such a beautiful invitation to reconnect with curiosity, Sarah. And I’m curious about your memoir. It’s going to be lovely to order it when it’s ready. I saw myself in your description of writing everything down, the easy and the tough, then re-reading and realising that sometimes it’s just for yourself. Also, the comfort that it’s down on paper and you needn’t think about it anymore. It’s such a beautiful process 🤍
Thank you for having my poem in this beautiful letter, Sarah. ✨
It’s been a real process of adding and subtracting! And leaving things out feels empowering. Realising I don’t have to lay myself bare to be understood?
Thanks for letting me publish it. Such a lovely reminder in this season of shedding 🍂
Exactly, I really thought I needed to be raw to be understood. And sometimes finding a way to write about the raw middle without having to describe it. 🍁
A beautiful invitation around the waning Gibbous moon to consider what we are ready to let go of, Sarah. I took this quite literally this week and shared some really unpoetic pics with my members over in Chat of some stuff that's been sitting in my garden for two years following roof repairs. I've walked past these remnants every day; probably weeded round them in all honesty! The other day, it was the work of mere moments to deal with them. Loving seeing their similar pics and hearing their stories of shedding!
On a more spiritual level, this Sunday marks a week since we said a final goodbye to my dad. He died last June, but we were somewhat slow in scattering the ashes. Done now, and also feeling that I was ready to do it. Maybe I wouldn't have been last year?
Do you know, I used to follow moon cycles so closely but have fallen out of the habit. It’s a ritual I’d like to return to 🌙
And thank you for opening up about this anniversary. I still have my son’s ashes and can appreciate that feeling of not being ready to let go. We talked about releasing them on Bamburgh beach over winter. He was due then and would have turned 7 this December had he carried on growing to term. It was the first beach we took my daughter to, and she asked if we can take her littlest brother soon, so it feels right somehow.
Will keep holding you in my thoughts today 💫
Sarah, I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you for telling me about your son. I think that your daughter asking to take her wee brother to Bamburgh sounds like a beautiful sign, but I so appreciate the difficulty in taking that final step. What a lovely thing, to have that special place where you can reflect together as the years unfold. Sending much love to you on what, I hope, is a slow Sunday. It is for us here in Glasgow. x
Thank you for this very nurturing note Sarah. I loved the reminder that when drafting, often what we leave out is as important as what we choose to keep. It reminded me of learning about negative space around objects in art etc, leaving space for what’s left there to really sing!
Thanks also for the beautiful prompts for curiosity. I love seeing it in my children and am so keen for them to remain this way as I don’t think questions/curiosity/opinions were encouraged enough when I was growing up. Hopefully it will also be a healing and learning for me! xx
You are so right about the lack of encouragement around questioning. ‘Seen and not heard’ springs to mind. Though, much like my eldest, I often let my opinion be known 😂
And yes to negative space. That’s a really good way of describing it 💛
I’m looking forward to listening to your playlist! Thank you! And that poem is lovely.
I’m letting go of a lot of old narratives around my work and my business at the moment. As I prepare for ‘launching’ something for the first time in a while I am feeling ready to face a lot of my fears around rejection and re-write that story in a more loving way. It feels quite big!!! Xxx
I’m trying to let go of some of the stories I tell myself too. I seem to be questioning my relevance at the moment, I think because I’m soon to return to work and on the cusp of turning 40.
If you’re curious to read more about rejection check out Liz Mosley who did a rejection challenge. It prompted me to start my own little challenge of sorts.
Here’s a link to a piece she wrote for my blog: https://thesearethedays.co/journal/seeking-rejection-with-liz-mosley/
Oh thank you so much - going to read that now!!! Returning to work after some time off... especially when you have birthed a whole new person (well two in fact because you of course are born new as well) is huge, and I think brings up all sorts of tenderness. I hope you can gently let them loosen their grip. xxx
“Notelets” love it... I now have a new word in my vocabulary!!
I wanted something with two syllables so Notelets it was 😀 I love discovering new words!
Very catchy for sure!!!
Lots of 'letting go' here as we adjust to living as a family of three with our eldest son now away at Uni. It's been a huge journey for me and a realisation that my son is learning to stand on his own two feet. I'm trying to resist the urge to check constantly for messages from him and remind myself that we are learning to navigate this new phase in our lives.
Oh that’s such a huge transition, Louise! My eldest is 8 going on 18 and I already find myself wondering what life will be like without her at home. What an amazing opportunity for him though. Go easy on yourself in these early days 💛
This was a beautiful read Sarah. I will checkout your playlist when I have some childcare this week in order to get some rest bite and opportunity to allow some spaciousness for creativity to flow again.
I am letting go of all the things I was told about who I am supposed to be (and the list is long!). I’ve just turned 39, so there is a bit of mid life unraveling/unfolding going on. I am letting go of the limiting belief that mental health or chronic illness should hold me back; that I’m being lazy and unproductive if I’m resting and I’m always, little by little, letting go of the old idea that it’s too late to be a creative and live my life in the way that I am now imagining it. Writing, reading and painting as well as other spiritual and seasonal practices are essential for my foundations - from there I am a better, more loving person and in turn a better partner, mother, friend and so on.
Would love to know more about the memoir you’re writing....📚🖊️
Thanks, Louise. I can relate to that sense of unfolding and like you hope this next decade will bring more creative freedom.
You might like to listen to this podcast episode where I speak with Sara Duigou about boundaries, capacity and prioritising rest. I don’t often talk about chronic illness but I touch on my experience here: https://saraduigou.com/podcast/centering-rest-in-your-business-with-sarah-robertson
The memoir! Well, I’m 18 months in now and it’s been an interesting ride. I’d like to make space to write about it here but it may need to be its own Substack. Not sure I have the energy for that at the moment!