39 Comments

"Life is both light and shade."

Love this. I have mentioned about this in my recent newsletter as I have been thinking a lot about this phrase. We often want to hold on to only the good parts and forget about the rest, we often expect only good things happening to us. But it's not a linear journey. It's a journey accompanied with all emotions you could possible think of that exist. I loved reading this list Sarah, so much wisdom in one post🌻

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That’s really kind of you. Thanks, Mansi. I don’t think I fully experienced awe until I experienced grief so the idea of life being light and shade, and a container for a whole gamut of emotions, makes complete sense to me ☺️

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Thank you for sharing✨

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I absolutely love these kinds of posts where people who have lived for X amount of years drop knowledge in a such a succinct way. A lot of your bullet points resonate with me, especially #8 on growth and change and #8 on love and grief. (did you make #8's all the best ones!?) I've bookmarked this post and will return to it :)

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Thank you for reading and bookmarking! I didn’t intentionally make the 8th ones the most memorable but I’m glad they resonated with you. I enjoyed writing the piece…mostly out of curiosity to see if I could list 40 things 😄

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Stepping into your truth this decade, Sarah. This post is honest and steeped in poignancy (as well as hope); thank you for sharing. I feel it's one to be saved and savoured rather than read once and then forgotten. We get to this stage in life, if we're lucky, ready to celebrate who we have become and who we are yet to become. It's rich with possibility as well as urgency as we have 'officially' entered midlife. I am so touched by your mention of Harris in this post. He is forever a part of your family, and the way you fold him in is so tender and beautiful.

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I’m glad you picked up on the hopeful tone, Lindsay. You wouldn’t believe the number of personal stories I have in draft! I think I hold back on sharing for fear of pity, but I share more as a means of acknowledging the difficulties in life and how they can be met with some level of possibility. I like to think Harris was with us at the beach that day 🌊

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This is lovely, Sarah! So many wonderful reminders. I loved the aging as a gift, the ‘but why?’, and that opportunities are endless if we can discard pressure + all of the others tbh!✨

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Thanks so much, Nadja. A slightly vulnerable share for me, but it was lovely to collate my thoughts, flick back through my journals and some of my entries here to create it. I hope it resonates with others as much as it’s resonated with you 💫

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Thank you, I am up this morning and I ask “But why”? Another day to share, play, pray and paint.

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Play, pray and paint. I love it 🥰

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Me 2! We gotta take time for our

Mememes and ppps

lol

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So good

Liked a lot of the 40 things I know

But this one. I remember most:

The child who asks, "But why?" wishes to understand more and is always keen to dig deep to uncover new things and explore new ideas.

That one was and is still me.

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A beautiful and valuable quality to have 🥰

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Happy (belated) birthday dear Sarah! Your birthday trip sounds super magical. Thank you so much for sharing your embodied wisdom and vulnerability in this post, I felt every word. I too am approaching 40 in the next 18 months and it does feel pretty seismic. My hope is that I feel ready and content in where I am at when I get there (as I hope for every life chapter). I feel like my 30s continues to be a deeply layered process of learning, unraveling and remembering. So much love to you on this path xx

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It was a lovely trip, for the most part, thank you! I thought I would feel more content than I do but there’s a definite ‘knowing’ there that feels good 💛

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The thoughts around success really resonated for me…thank you! And HBD!

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Thank you! Most of that I’ve learned (and continue to relearn) the hard way 🙃

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I'm turing 40 in a few weeks and feel the same sentiments of gratitude to have made it here. Thank you for sharing these beautiful truths Sarah! I'm feeling inspired to create my own list of things I know to be true.

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Thanks, Ashleigh. It felt lovely to create the list. And quite empowering on the road to midlife 🥰

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Such a powerful, personal post but one that will also put words to feelings and curiosities of so many of us! Thank-you x

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Thanks, Sarah. It was a helpful exercise I putting words to my feelings, too. Writing posts really helps me to process things 💛

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This is so utterly beautiful, and so many nuggets of wisdom and learnings and love filled words. Celebrating your 40th year, it’s felt like a really potent one for me. May the next decade be filled with love and laughter and memories and magic xxxxx

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It’s been a powerful shift. I’m enjoying leaning into it…feeling much more like myself, somehow, and feeling excited for the future too 🥰💛

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I really enjoyed reading this one 👌🏽 thank you 😊 I am approaching my 40 and i see myself in those lines 😌

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You’re welcome. Moving from my thirties to my forties felt quite empowering. I hope it’s the same for you 💛

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A bit challenging sometimes, because I am menopaused since my 36 (very early), but I am happy to be that wise woman before the age 😄

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That is extremely early and I’m sorry you had to go through that. A friend was in a similar position, from the age of 28 I think. Very challenging 💛

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This post is a gift and so moving, Sarah. Thank you. Today, the piece that resonates most for me is this: "It’s your job to manage your capacity and protect your boundaries. When we honour our space, others tend to respect it, too."

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Appreciate that, Kathy. This was a hard learned lesson for me and still a daily practice. It gets easier, for sure, but I think when you’ve previously been the ‘yes’ person it’s hard to make ‘no’ part of your vocabulary!

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Beautiful generous wise words Sarah and thank you for sharing a little of your first son Harris❤️

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Thank you, Sam. Had I carried him to term, he would’ve been 8 this year. Time is a funny thing. Feels like only yesterday we said our goodbyes 💛

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❤️❤️❤️

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Beautiful and raw, Sarah. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing. And, wishing you the happiest of birthdays! xx

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Thank you, Hannah! Something a little different from me, but when you’re called to write, you’re called to write ✍🏻

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Oh, Sarah, I love this. Thank you for sharing. Here's what I know to be true: Things always have a way of coming back to you. Even when you're putting your work out there and it feels like it's falling on silence, it is making an impact... even if it's unseen. Love your beautiful writing x

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Oh I believe this to be true, too! Thank you for sharing Aimée. And thank you for your kind words ✨

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