Lyndsay, this was uttely lovely to read. So many of your sentences gave me goosebumps.. the lighting of a communal fire - just lovely. I am currently living in two worlds, one foot in autumn (having been born and living my entire childhood in the UK) and one foot in Spring (living my adult life mostly in Australia)... I feel a deep connection with both seasons and both worlds. What once confused me, in the past 12 months has become my deepest strength. I have been able to allow these two sides of me to live as one, separate, offering dual perspectives and emotions, but living as one within me. I am approaching my 40th year, I am a mother to three wild and beautiful boys, an interior designer and career mentor. I have had many experiences and roles throughout my life and can see now how they all dovetail into one another. I want to write about our homes in a way that brings us greater connection to ourselves, I want to offer people joy & hope through my words. That is why I chose the word 'Home' for my publication. I feel it encompasses so much of our lives, it's not just about making a home beautiful, it is so much more than that. I feel such a deep sense of peach here on Substack. I am so keen to start a podcast, but it terrifies me, which probably means I should do it! I truly love your words and your voice Lyndsey. Thank you for this beautiful, connected post. Lis xx
Thank you so much Lisa, I’m so delighted you enjoyed reading it and are up for joining the collective fireside!
Oh wow, so interesting that you have such deep experiences of both lands and their opposite seasons. (My husband and his family moved to the UK from Australia when he was a little boy and I often have conversations with his mum about her September birthday being springtime in Aus whilst it is the beginnings of autumn here — beauty in both that’s for sure).
I am so happy to hear that you have found a wholeness in the dichotomy within you, though I can understand the confusion you must have felt for a long time. When your body is naturally drawn to the energetics of one season but the outside world is manifesting very differently it is a strange feeling. It is amazing that you have reached a place where the two truths can coexist within you. Also I would love to know if as well as the seasons unfolding in an opposite manner, do they also have different characteristics in both places? Like how does a Australian autumn feel compared to a UK one?
I loved learning more about you and am so happy you are here. I look forward to seeing more of your interiors work and agree that learnings from each role in our life becomes a part of us.
I also totally love about your ideas around ‘home’, one of the main ideas around my past blog was that home is the place we should be able to fully connect with ourselves as a foundation for everything else.
I think you absolutely must start a podcast! I know what you mean about it feeling terrifying but if you are really keen I think it is definitely the way to go and I look forward to your beautiful words and ideas filling the space around us xx
Interestingly, due to where we reside in Australia (new England tablelands) it is actually quite similar to the uk. We have lots of beautiful autumnal trees and the landscape in autumn changes to a sea of red and orange. We get frosts, quite severe ones. But it’s never quite cold enough to snow (not properly at least) I do miss the stillness of those snow days. That’s interesting that your mil has a similar experience of both. Do you think she finds it confusing or has she found an acceptance of both?
In spring time we have bulbs and new baby animals to embrace, so it is quite similar to the uk again. However, there is a harshness, a rawness here that is different. More space, harsher more extreme weather. The harshness has somehow allowed me to explore greater depths. I crave a uk trip, hoping to get there next year. Thank you for the podcast boost. I’ll look into how it all works and maybe that will get me over the line. Thanks darling, look forward to reading more of your work too - Lis xx
Ooo yes the stillness and silence of snow days, so magic. Love to hear that where you is quite similar to here and that you get the colour palette of autumn unfolding there too. I think my MIL is quite accepting of the two experiences existing and talks about them quite separately, I must ask her more about how it feels.
So interesting to hear that there is a harshness to spring there, I always think of it as quite a soft, bouncy time of year. Would love to hear more about the depths.
Ooo yes please do come and see us over here!
Good idea re: the podcast, arm yourself with the practical info but sometimes it is more doable when you set it up and figure stuff out as you go along, (a bit like how I ended up on Substack, so happy to be here!) Lxx
I love this! I love how Substack is such a beautiful community, and so many people here are keen to bring people together and support one another instead of competing with and shouting over each other. It really warms my soul!
I'm Allegra, I'm 39 (for two more weeks - eep!), and I live on the south coast of England. Right next to the beach, which is my happy place. I'm an author, a columnist and a creativity coach, as well as an entrepreneur, and a mum to a five-year-old and two-year-old. I'm passionate about creativity as a tool for wellbeing, self-discovery and empowerment, and I set up IAmHappy.substack.com to investigate how creativity (in greater alignment with nature) can bring us more joy and fulfilment. My name means "happy" in Italian, so the name is a bit of a pun on that.
Creativity is what lights me up. I love writing and making art (although I'm definitely better at the former than the latter!), but I also enjoy baking, knitting, crafting, photography... any kind of making things. I love big ideas, and I really enjoy a good brainstorm.
I never used to enjoy this time of year. Ironically, as it's my birthday. But it's cold, it's wet, it's dark... I love the light and colour and energy of autumn, but by November that's faded to slushy greyness. However, in recent years I've started to really lean in to it. I make a big deal out of making my home cosy. I love the ritual of making a fire in the evenings, and I light candles everywhere. I get out all the cosy blankets, and the big woolen socks. I really savour that sense of turning inwards that you get from nature. The trees and the ground seem bare, but actually the buds are already there waiting to unfurl new leaves, the bulbs are already germinating in the soil, this is the time for new life to begin growing and strengthening in the dark, ready to burst into the light come spring. It feels like the perfect time to start germinating new ideas, building and strengthening them so that they're ready to come out into the light in spring. So over the next couple of months I'm going for cosiness and creativity!
Ah yes I feel this way too, it is so refreshing and uplifting — a huge reframe when we are so often led down the competition/comparison route.
Ooo happy almost birthday! How wonderful to live so close to the sea, an amazing resource for wellbeing/creativity I’m sure. Your work sounds incredibly interesting, I love the strands you weave together and your tools for unlocking creativity are always so full and inspiring.
Yes to creativity lighting you up — I find that often it is the process rather than the outcome that brings the most joy and fulfilment. Especially that feeling of accessing the flow of creativity (which is obviously not always the case!)
And I am delighted to hear that you are leaning into this time of year. I used to be the same, I always really dreaded winter but I feel much more comfort in the darker months these days. I hope your birthday brings lots of sparkle to the darkness and your autumnal/winter rituals sound so beautiful and nourishing. Yes I love the ideas of the living world resting in the darkness and that it is necessary for the unseen growth happening all of the time beneath the surface. This reminds me to hurry up and get my bulbs in the ground!!
Ooo yes to dreaming up and germinating ideas ready to bloom in spring. I love your words for the season, cosy creativity feels absolutely perfect xx
That notion of the collective fire being used to bring light and warmth to each domestic hearth is really resonating with me as I read, Lyndsay. What a beautiful image.
I, too, feel a special kind of magic at this time of year. A connectedness to mother earth as well as to others with caring responsibilities. The events of the past few weeks have sharpened my focus and sense that, more than ever, we need to take strength from that collective fire you talk about to light the one inside we'll need to see us through these dark months.
And as requested, here's a bit about me...
I'm Lindsay, I'm a 40 year old mother, wife, writer, facilitator, friend and carer.
I write here most Sundays, answering various flavours of 'What Now?'. It's a question that sits at the very heart of my everyday experience, as well as more deeply as a person whose hyper-vigilance was seeded by intergenerational trauma.
I write words on my experience of post-therapy, perimenopausal midlife, parenting girls and navigating our various hormonal fluctuations as well as my writing life as I move towards the publication of my memoir. I also teach writing courses here, too.
I share words that I hope bring solace and salve to fellow midlifers who haven't quite got it all sussed out yet. I love.meeting my readers and cheerleaders in the comments, and have been so privileged to hold space for their stories, too.
I can't wait to launch my podcast, excerpting my memoir exclusively for my Members' community here on Substack, in the coming weeks.
Ah thank you for reading Lindsay. I am so pleased to hear that the idea of lighting our own hearth spaces with the collective fire resonated with you, I agree it feels much needed right now. And yes, the magic of this time of year feels very much of the earth (as well as the other realms), with a sense of care and a reverence of our ancestry and roots at the centre.
Thank you for sharing more about you. I love that you are writing to explore and answer the questions of your current reality and your everyday experiences, as well as the layers informed by your family trauma.
I am so interested in your journey post therapy into perimenopause whilst raising your girls. As I approach 40 in the next couple of years, there is a feeling of “how is this happening?!” mixed with a sense of gratitude and also a feeling of being ready for this time of my life...thank you for your writing that undoubtedly brings a sense of comfort and solidarity.
Congratulations on your podcast, it sounds brilliant. Exciting times ahead! xx
Ahhh I adore the way you bring such a gentle and yet powerful approach to these seasonal thresholds and cycles. I really have felt this last week like we are in a deep and magical portal!!
And what a beautiful invitation! I’m Lauren... Mother of daughters, Writer and Space Holder, Mentor, Creative, Web Designer ... all round multifaceted human...
What lights me up is truthful, deep, open hearted conversations, nature, ritual, magic, holding space for the essence of others to be excavated and remembered... connection and community... nourishing food... movement... music... my babies, laughter...
The feelings I hope to embody in the darkest days ahead... regulated, resourced, patient, peaceful, steadfast and deeply creative...
Thank you L and yes to the depth of otherworldliness right now. It feels so misty but potent too.
Thank you for sharing the full spectrum of your multifaceted being and the beautiful layers that light you up — all so meaningful and resonant but so personal to you ❤️
And YES to your feelings for these dark days. I feel as though each one feeds the next and together are certainly set to create magic in the months ahead xx
Darling wow this was so beautiful to read. Thank you for sharing and thank you for so generously including me in your post. As for the introduction - I'm Claudia, born and raised in Austria but have been living in Australia for a decade now (which is just wild) I'm a mama to two beautiful, wild and free babies who aren't really babies anymore and we live on an acreage farm hidden away in the rainforest with 13 chickens, two guinea pigs, a very energetic dog and bees. I'm a writer, yoga teacher, a meditator, a photographer and videographer but underneath all these labels I am a woman constantly evolving and following the nudges of my heart. My life revolves around homeschooling my children and expressing myself creatively in a way that feels good and nourishing. What lights me up is guiding others towards that special place within, opening hearts to the fact that we carry everything we need within. I love to create community, bring people together and connect them not necessarily as the role of the leader but more as in standing back and watching the
magic of true connection unfold. Meditation has quite frankly changed my life over the past decade and carried me through a lot of trauma so naturally this is something I feel called and passionate to share with others. Substack has been such a homecoming for me in many ways. A place I feel like I can bring all those things to the table in a way that feels good and expansive to the heart and the community. And definitely also a place that allows me to stretch and grow a lot, which is always a good sign. Apart from all that I spend a lot of time slowing down here on the farm. We garden a lot, I try to make more food from scratch though find that's very seasonal haha it's a beautiful place to return back to our roots, away from most of the noise from the outside world which is what we have all been craving. I loved reading about you and getting to know you a little better, what a beautiful journey. Thank you for sharing with us xxx
Ah thank you C. I LOVE hearing more about you and the description of your home and surroundings paints the most evocative picture of your life over there. It sounds so idyllic, wild and free!
And yes the way you describe your professions being underlined by your essence as an intuitive, evolving woman speaks to me (and many others I’m sure!).
I can see that space holding and guiding essence that lights you up, we all need you and your beautiful soul and tender guidance very much.
Would love to hear more about your meditation journey as my fairly strong practice has fallen by the wayside in recent years.
And yes to Substack facilitating a homecoming allowing you to deeply express yourself — it feels so good to be here with you! Much love xx
Honestly your words continue to bring tears to my eyes haha thank you for reflecting this all back to me ✨ it is so appreciated, honestly.
I feel like my meditation practice is the one thing I haven't (also couldn't) let go off when becoming a mother and it of course ebbed and flowed - especially when in the deep trenches of sleep deprivation and just mothering in general. But I managed to always meditate at least once a day, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, sometimes in the mornings other times in the evenings and other days I managed to do both times. I used to be very rigid about it and not allow myself to pivot because a strict practice was what I wanted and needed at that time but it evolved as I have and now I let it flow as it needs be and is most nourishing for everyone involved. I'm back to morning and afternoon/evening now which feels the most nourishing for me but it takes a lot of dedication and planning ahead to make sure the kids are always entertained while I sit - all the books and colouring in and occasional documentaries. They're older now too though so it's a little easier.
I feel like I went of on a tangent then haha but hope it answers some of your questions.
I love this gathering so much, Lyndsay! 💕 I am Jenna. I'm 49 and live in New Mexico, US with my husband. I'm a spiritual healer working primarily with the dead. I am lit up by synchronicity and magic, and what I hope to embody in the darker days to come is wisdom and illumination. Not in a way of overcoming darkness (because I very much value the darkness too), but in a way of being able to see clearly within the darkness, within the self.
Thank you for telling us more about you and I am beyond fascinated by your work.
Yes to being lit up by synchronicity and magic, a beautiful way to live.
I really love your take on gathering in the dark and that the illumination is required not to take the dark away but to discover the wisdom and to see more clearly. Thank you for sharing this xx
I felt warm and fuzzy reading this, Lyndsay - thank you. Thank you also for the very kind mention.
Your phrase "glints of light in talking and togetherness" struck a chord. I don't know about you, but every time I collaborate with someone else on something, I feel a sense of satisfaction that I don't get when working on my own. As women, I think it's so important that we celebrate each other and connect like this.
In answer to your questions...
I'm Hannah, I'm 38 and live in London. A few months ago I quit my full time job, retrained as an interior designer and am now earning my living from a whole host of exciting sources. I feel like I am creatively alive again and I am sharing my journey here on Substack. I feel passionately about sharing the stories of women and also have a podcast where I interview women who have made a career change or taken a big risk in their lives: www.chezhanny.substack.com
I am lit up when I discover that something I have written has inspired someone else in some way. However tiny that may be, it puts a smile on my face.
In the darkest days ahead, I want to try to be kind to myself and others in not expecting too much. Sometimes we just need to curl up on the sofa with a book or take a bath, and I heartily encourage that kind of self-care.
Ah I am so glad the post had a warming effect! Yes I absolutely agree that the gems of collaboration shine so brightly, there really is nothing better. And yes, this continues to be the most brilliant experience of the fullness and beauty that unfolds when women support and celebrate each other.
Ah I am 38 in London too...! It is so brilliant that you retrained as an interior designer and that you are now living (and earning) creatively. Where did you train? I would love to hear more about this and I look forward to delving into the stories you tell of other women making big changes.
Ah thank you for sharing what lights you up. Knowing that your words and thoughts are being absorbed and having an effect on others is incredibly special.
I am with you on lowering expectations and being kind to ourselves over these darker months, a beautiful intention that I am sure will feel super nourishing and in support of future growth when the light returns xx
What a soothing read this was, but I also want to take a moment to celebrate your stunning photography. It’s excellent. I agree about November, though I find the darkness energetically exciting as it provides a spotlight for me and my big dreams.
In answer to your question: I’m Laura, a 38 year old (who in many ways thinks she’s 17) mama to 3 beauts, and in this season of my life I am obsessed with joyful, sustainable growth. Growth of my creativity, growth in my business, growth of my income and forcing myself not to try and grow my family! Magic occurs for me through co-creation, through music (I’m a professional soprano, play the violin, teach music, compose and conduct), through living seasonally and cyclically and through fairy lights, soft blankets, cuddling and food. Xx
Ah thank you Laura. And thank you re: my pics, I used to spend quite a bit of time capturing bits and bobs of our house etc, spurred on by IG, these days any spare moments are writing here!
And I love that you find the darkness energetically exciting, I agree there is much potential to be found in the seemingly quieter times.
Thank you for sharing here and yesss to joyful, sustainable growth, I need to dive into your Create before Consume series but see so much practical wisdom there. I love where the magic lies for you and the role music plays (in all aspects of your being I'm sure). The image you conjure of fairy lights, blankets, delicious food and hugs is so heart-warming, thank you for that! xx
Lyndsay, this was uttely lovely to read. So many of your sentences gave me goosebumps.. the lighting of a communal fire - just lovely. I am currently living in two worlds, one foot in autumn (having been born and living my entire childhood in the UK) and one foot in Spring (living my adult life mostly in Australia)... I feel a deep connection with both seasons and both worlds. What once confused me, in the past 12 months has become my deepest strength. I have been able to allow these two sides of me to live as one, separate, offering dual perspectives and emotions, but living as one within me. I am approaching my 40th year, I am a mother to three wild and beautiful boys, an interior designer and career mentor. I have had many experiences and roles throughout my life and can see now how they all dovetail into one another. I want to write about our homes in a way that brings us greater connection to ourselves, I want to offer people joy & hope through my words. That is why I chose the word 'Home' for my publication. I feel it encompasses so much of our lives, it's not just about making a home beautiful, it is so much more than that. I feel such a deep sense of peach here on Substack. I am so keen to start a podcast, but it terrifies me, which probably means I should do it! I truly love your words and your voice Lyndsey. Thank you for this beautiful, connected post. Lis xx
Thank you so much Lisa, I’m so delighted you enjoyed reading it and are up for joining the collective fireside!
Oh wow, so interesting that you have such deep experiences of both lands and their opposite seasons. (My husband and his family moved to the UK from Australia when he was a little boy and I often have conversations with his mum about her September birthday being springtime in Aus whilst it is the beginnings of autumn here — beauty in both that’s for sure).
I am so happy to hear that you have found a wholeness in the dichotomy within you, though I can understand the confusion you must have felt for a long time. When your body is naturally drawn to the energetics of one season but the outside world is manifesting very differently it is a strange feeling. It is amazing that you have reached a place where the two truths can coexist within you. Also I would love to know if as well as the seasons unfolding in an opposite manner, do they also have different characteristics in both places? Like how does a Australian autumn feel compared to a UK one?
I loved learning more about you and am so happy you are here. I look forward to seeing more of your interiors work and agree that learnings from each role in our life becomes a part of us.
I also totally love about your ideas around ‘home’, one of the main ideas around my past blog was that home is the place we should be able to fully connect with ourselves as a foundation for everything else.
I think you absolutely must start a podcast! I know what you mean about it feeling terrifying but if you are really keen I think it is definitely the way to go and I look forward to your beautiful words and ideas filling the space around us xx
Interestingly, due to where we reside in Australia (new England tablelands) it is actually quite similar to the uk. We have lots of beautiful autumnal trees and the landscape in autumn changes to a sea of red and orange. We get frosts, quite severe ones. But it’s never quite cold enough to snow (not properly at least) I do miss the stillness of those snow days. That’s interesting that your mil has a similar experience of both. Do you think she finds it confusing or has she found an acceptance of both?
In spring time we have bulbs and new baby animals to embrace, so it is quite similar to the uk again. However, there is a harshness, a rawness here that is different. More space, harsher more extreme weather. The harshness has somehow allowed me to explore greater depths. I crave a uk trip, hoping to get there next year. Thank you for the podcast boost. I’ll look into how it all works and maybe that will get me over the line. Thanks darling, look forward to reading more of your work too - Lis xx
Ooo yes the stillness and silence of snow days, so magic. Love to hear that where you is quite similar to here and that you get the colour palette of autumn unfolding there too. I think my MIL is quite accepting of the two experiences existing and talks about them quite separately, I must ask her more about how it feels.
So interesting to hear that there is a harshness to spring there, I always think of it as quite a soft, bouncy time of year. Would love to hear more about the depths.
Ooo yes please do come and see us over here!
Good idea re: the podcast, arm yourself with the practical info but sometimes it is more doable when you set it up and figure stuff out as you go along, (a bit like how I ended up on Substack, so happy to be here!) Lxx
Yes so true! You either sink or swim right 🙈😘 thanks Lyndsay, so lovely to connect with you here xx
I love this! I love how Substack is such a beautiful community, and so many people here are keen to bring people together and support one another instead of competing with and shouting over each other. It really warms my soul!
I'm Allegra, I'm 39 (for two more weeks - eep!), and I live on the south coast of England. Right next to the beach, which is my happy place. I'm an author, a columnist and a creativity coach, as well as an entrepreneur, and a mum to a five-year-old and two-year-old. I'm passionate about creativity as a tool for wellbeing, self-discovery and empowerment, and I set up IAmHappy.substack.com to investigate how creativity (in greater alignment with nature) can bring us more joy and fulfilment. My name means "happy" in Italian, so the name is a bit of a pun on that.
Creativity is what lights me up. I love writing and making art (although I'm definitely better at the former than the latter!), but I also enjoy baking, knitting, crafting, photography... any kind of making things. I love big ideas, and I really enjoy a good brainstorm.
I never used to enjoy this time of year. Ironically, as it's my birthday. But it's cold, it's wet, it's dark... I love the light and colour and energy of autumn, but by November that's faded to slushy greyness. However, in recent years I've started to really lean in to it. I make a big deal out of making my home cosy. I love the ritual of making a fire in the evenings, and I light candles everywhere. I get out all the cosy blankets, and the big woolen socks. I really savour that sense of turning inwards that you get from nature. The trees and the ground seem bare, but actually the buds are already there waiting to unfurl new leaves, the bulbs are already germinating in the soil, this is the time for new life to begin growing and strengthening in the dark, ready to burst into the light come spring. It feels like the perfect time to start germinating new ideas, building and strengthening them so that they're ready to come out into the light in spring. So over the next couple of months I'm going for cosiness and creativity!
Ah yes I feel this way too, it is so refreshing and uplifting — a huge reframe when we are so often led down the competition/comparison route.
Ooo happy almost birthday! How wonderful to live so close to the sea, an amazing resource for wellbeing/creativity I’m sure. Your work sounds incredibly interesting, I love the strands you weave together and your tools for unlocking creativity are always so full and inspiring.
Yes to creativity lighting you up — I find that often it is the process rather than the outcome that brings the most joy and fulfilment. Especially that feeling of accessing the flow of creativity (which is obviously not always the case!)
And I am delighted to hear that you are leaning into this time of year. I used to be the same, I always really dreaded winter but I feel much more comfort in the darker months these days. I hope your birthday brings lots of sparkle to the darkness and your autumnal/winter rituals sound so beautiful and nourishing. Yes I love the ideas of the living world resting in the darkness and that it is necessary for the unseen growth happening all of the time beneath the surface. This reminds me to hurry up and get my bulbs in the ground!!
Ooo yes to dreaming up and germinating ideas ready to bloom in spring. I love your words for the season, cosy creativity feels absolutely perfect xx
That notion of the collective fire being used to bring light and warmth to each domestic hearth is really resonating with me as I read, Lyndsay. What a beautiful image.
I, too, feel a special kind of magic at this time of year. A connectedness to mother earth as well as to others with caring responsibilities. The events of the past few weeks have sharpened my focus and sense that, more than ever, we need to take strength from that collective fire you talk about to light the one inside we'll need to see us through these dark months.
And as requested, here's a bit about me...
I'm Lindsay, I'm a 40 year old mother, wife, writer, facilitator, friend and carer.
I write here most Sundays, answering various flavours of 'What Now?'. It's a question that sits at the very heart of my everyday experience, as well as more deeply as a person whose hyper-vigilance was seeded by intergenerational trauma.
I write words on my experience of post-therapy, perimenopausal midlife, parenting girls and navigating our various hormonal fluctuations as well as my writing life as I move towards the publication of my memoir. I also teach writing courses here, too.
I share words that I hope bring solace and salve to fellow midlifers who haven't quite got it all sussed out yet. I love.meeting my readers and cheerleaders in the comments, and have been so privileged to hold space for their stories, too.
I can't wait to launch my podcast, excerpting my memoir exclusively for my Members' community here on Substack, in the coming weeks.
Ah thank you for reading Lindsay. I am so pleased to hear that the idea of lighting our own hearth spaces with the collective fire resonated with you, I agree it feels much needed right now. And yes, the magic of this time of year feels very much of the earth (as well as the other realms), with a sense of care and a reverence of our ancestry and roots at the centre.
Thank you for sharing more about you. I love that you are writing to explore and answer the questions of your current reality and your everyday experiences, as well as the layers informed by your family trauma.
I am so interested in your journey post therapy into perimenopause whilst raising your girls. As I approach 40 in the next couple of years, there is a feeling of “how is this happening?!” mixed with a sense of gratitude and also a feeling of being ready for this time of my life...thank you for your writing that undoubtedly brings a sense of comfort and solidarity.
Congratulations on your podcast, it sounds brilliant. Exciting times ahead! xx
Ahhh I adore the way you bring such a gentle and yet powerful approach to these seasonal thresholds and cycles. I really have felt this last week like we are in a deep and magical portal!!
And what a beautiful invitation! I’m Lauren... Mother of daughters, Writer and Space Holder, Mentor, Creative, Web Designer ... all round multifaceted human...
What lights me up is truthful, deep, open hearted conversations, nature, ritual, magic, holding space for the essence of others to be excavated and remembered... connection and community... nourishing food... movement... music... my babies, laughter...
The feelings I hope to embody in the darkest days ahead... regulated, resourced, patient, peaceful, steadfast and deeply creative...
Adore these prompts. Thank you! Xxx
Thank you L and yes to the depth of otherworldliness right now. It feels so misty but potent too.
Thank you for sharing the full spectrum of your multifaceted being and the beautiful layers that light you up — all so meaningful and resonant but so personal to you ❤️
And YES to your feelings for these dark days. I feel as though each one feeds the next and together are certainly set to create magic in the months ahead xx
Darling wow this was so beautiful to read. Thank you for sharing and thank you for so generously including me in your post. As for the introduction - I'm Claudia, born and raised in Austria but have been living in Australia for a decade now (which is just wild) I'm a mama to two beautiful, wild and free babies who aren't really babies anymore and we live on an acreage farm hidden away in the rainforest with 13 chickens, two guinea pigs, a very energetic dog and bees. I'm a writer, yoga teacher, a meditator, a photographer and videographer but underneath all these labels I am a woman constantly evolving and following the nudges of my heart. My life revolves around homeschooling my children and expressing myself creatively in a way that feels good and nourishing. What lights me up is guiding others towards that special place within, opening hearts to the fact that we carry everything we need within. I love to create community, bring people together and connect them not necessarily as the role of the leader but more as in standing back and watching the
magic of true connection unfold. Meditation has quite frankly changed my life over the past decade and carried me through a lot of trauma so naturally this is something I feel called and passionate to share with others. Substack has been such a homecoming for me in many ways. A place I feel like I can bring all those things to the table in a way that feels good and expansive to the heart and the community. And definitely also a place that allows me to stretch and grow a lot, which is always a good sign. Apart from all that I spend a lot of time slowing down here on the farm. We garden a lot, I try to make more food from scratch though find that's very seasonal haha it's a beautiful place to return back to our roots, away from most of the noise from the outside world which is what we have all been craving. I loved reading about you and getting to know you a little better, what a beautiful journey. Thank you for sharing with us xxx
Ah thank you C. I LOVE hearing more about you and the description of your home and surroundings paints the most evocative picture of your life over there. It sounds so idyllic, wild and free!
And yes the way you describe your professions being underlined by your essence as an intuitive, evolving woman speaks to me (and many others I’m sure!).
I can see that space holding and guiding essence that lights you up, we all need you and your beautiful soul and tender guidance very much.
Would love to hear more about your meditation journey as my fairly strong practice has fallen by the wayside in recent years.
And yes to Substack facilitating a homecoming allowing you to deeply express yourself — it feels so good to be here with you! Much love xx
Honestly your words continue to bring tears to my eyes haha thank you for reflecting this all back to me ✨ it is so appreciated, honestly.
I feel like my meditation practice is the one thing I haven't (also couldn't) let go off when becoming a mother and it of course ebbed and flowed - especially when in the deep trenches of sleep deprivation and just mothering in general. But I managed to always meditate at least once a day, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, sometimes in the mornings other times in the evenings and other days I managed to do both times. I used to be very rigid about it and not allow myself to pivot because a strict practice was what I wanted and needed at that time but it evolved as I have and now I let it flow as it needs be and is most nourishing for everyone involved. I'm back to morning and afternoon/evening now which feels the most nourishing for me but it takes a lot of dedication and planning ahead to make sure the kids are always entertained while I sit - all the books and colouring in and occasional documentaries. They're older now too though so it's a little easier.
I feel like I went of on a tangent then haha but hope it answers some of your questions.
Would love to hear about yours xx
I love this gathering so much, Lyndsay! 💕 I am Jenna. I'm 49 and live in New Mexico, US with my husband. I'm a spiritual healer working primarily with the dead. I am lit up by synchronicity and magic, and what I hope to embody in the darker days to come is wisdom and illumination. Not in a way of overcoming darkness (because I very much value the darkness too), but in a way of being able to see clearly within the darkness, within the self.
Oh Jenna I’m so glad that you are here!
Thank you for telling us more about you and I am beyond fascinated by your work.
Yes to being lit up by synchronicity and magic, a beautiful way to live.
I really love your take on gathering in the dark and that the illumination is required not to take the dark away but to discover the wisdom and to see more clearly. Thank you for sharing this xx
I felt warm and fuzzy reading this, Lyndsay - thank you. Thank you also for the very kind mention.
Your phrase "glints of light in talking and togetherness" struck a chord. I don't know about you, but every time I collaborate with someone else on something, I feel a sense of satisfaction that I don't get when working on my own. As women, I think it's so important that we celebrate each other and connect like this.
In answer to your questions...
I'm Hannah, I'm 38 and live in London. A few months ago I quit my full time job, retrained as an interior designer and am now earning my living from a whole host of exciting sources. I feel like I am creatively alive again and I am sharing my journey here on Substack. I feel passionately about sharing the stories of women and also have a podcast where I interview women who have made a career change or taken a big risk in their lives: www.chezhanny.substack.com
I am lit up when I discover that something I have written has inspired someone else in some way. However tiny that may be, it puts a smile on my face.
In the darkest days ahead, I want to try to be kind to myself and others in not expecting too much. Sometimes we just need to curl up on the sofa with a book or take a bath, and I heartily encourage that kind of self-care.
Ah I am so glad the post had a warming effect! Yes I absolutely agree that the gems of collaboration shine so brightly, there really is nothing better. And yes, this continues to be the most brilliant experience of the fullness and beauty that unfolds when women support and celebrate each other.
Ah I am 38 in London too...! It is so brilliant that you retrained as an interior designer and that you are now living (and earning) creatively. Where did you train? I would love to hear more about this and I look forward to delving into the stories you tell of other women making big changes.
Ah thank you for sharing what lights you up. Knowing that your words and thoughts are being absorbed and having an effect on others is incredibly special.
I am with you on lowering expectations and being kind to ourselves over these darker months, a beautiful intention that I am sure will feel super nourishing and in support of future growth when the light returns xx
What a soothing read this was, but I also want to take a moment to celebrate your stunning photography. It’s excellent. I agree about November, though I find the darkness energetically exciting as it provides a spotlight for me and my big dreams.
In answer to your question: I’m Laura, a 38 year old (who in many ways thinks she’s 17) mama to 3 beauts, and in this season of my life I am obsessed with joyful, sustainable growth. Growth of my creativity, growth in my business, growth of my income and forcing myself not to try and grow my family! Magic occurs for me through co-creation, through music (I’m a professional soprano, play the violin, teach music, compose and conduct), through living seasonally and cyclically and through fairy lights, soft blankets, cuddling and food. Xx
Ah thank you Laura. And thank you re: my pics, I used to spend quite a bit of time capturing bits and bobs of our house etc, spurred on by IG, these days any spare moments are writing here!
And I love that you find the darkness energetically exciting, I agree there is much potential to be found in the seemingly quieter times.
Thank you for sharing here and yesss to joyful, sustainable growth, I need to dive into your Create before Consume series but see so much practical wisdom there. I love where the magic lies for you and the role music plays (in all aspects of your being I'm sure). The image you conjure of fairy lights, blankets, delicious food and hugs is so heart-warming, thank you for that! xx