I am glad to read about your revised posting schedule and can appreciate how much work you've put into this in recent months. Slowing down is a good thing and I will savor your offerings as much with fewer posts. The pull of what you love will magnetize me as a reader going forward.
Thanks, Susan. Once a week is all I can manage to post on Substack. And I have finally figured out that I need to set boundaries, well, at least here, in terms of the time I have available. Love all the good writing here, including your Substack.
Thank you, Linda. It just amazes me how difficult it is to remember to take care of ourselves. But if we can't do that, we have nothing from which to share with the world.
Very appropriate for me today - Tim is recovering from surgery and I want to help him without paying attention to my energy limits. If I do that, I am worse and can’t help at all! Thank you for the encouragement and modeling to be present without pushing! And to adjust as I go if necessary!
That is so familiar, Kathryn. I took care of both my late husband and my mom through their deaths, and I often didn't realize I had overdone it until I crashed. And that was a problem. So good for you for recognizing that, and for doing your best to be aware of your energy limits. Adjusting as we go is a great skill to develop. :)
I took great comfort from walking along with you today. Elbow height? Honestly, kneecap height. (A hasty metaphor for how much you know and sense of all worlds; and how much I don’t know in comparison) The words from Rumi’s perception and pen are delightful. Energizing.
The look and feel of your Living (Spirit?) Room is a delight for souls and eyes. Your firewood mountain called up memories of an earlier life that also relied on firewood. Warmth, cooking, warming my coffee cup.
Simply I thank you for today’s Essay for: Year of Thinking Spiritually - - Month 2, Week 3. Knowing I can find some of your work here on Substack gives a similar feeling to when I was a child, carrying a drawstring cotton bag containing cat’s eye marbles, larger shooter cat’s eyes, and a few ball bearing “marbles” to show I was prepared for anything. Or hoped to be. All the very best today and always.
Lindy, if you mean the message at the very end of the post that thanks you for reading and suggests you subscribe, that's just part of every post. If you saw the whole post down to that message, you're logged in as a paid subscriber. Sorry for the confusion!
I’m glad you are taking care of yourself. I too am often guilty of overcommitting! I think that just might be a constant lifelong thing to try to learn. Enthusiasm is an asset and of course every asset can also be a challenge.
Yeah, we're a learning and doing culture, not so much on the being part! And you are quite right: every asset is a spectrum from wonderfully helpful/useful to whoops!--way over the edge. :)
Thanks for modeling a sustainable pace of writing and life. Rumi and O’Donohue are two of my go-to spiritual guides. A dear friend who has since passed on gave me “Anam Cara,” thanks for the reminder to dig back into it.
You are welcome! I had a copy of Anam Cara on my shelf for a long time, unread, and then someone borrowed it and it never returned. So I was delighted to be lent my friend's copy, annotated from his readings for a theology degree. I find reading a pre-loved copy makes O'Donohue even deeper and more resonant. :)
One of the things I appreciate about the writers I follow on Substack is the honesty they offer about their lives and their work. Your update was important for me to hear this morning. As a new writer on Substack, my enthusiasm was over the top! But, yesterday, I felt that familiar internal pressure to do, to achieve, instead of honoring my time and my need to just be. On paper, I am retired as of last year, but I find myself battling with my many interests, desires and promises. On some days I am exhausted from simlply doing all that I love. That pull is a strong one.
I hear you! One of the things about getting older for me is learning to recognize that I have less energy, and thus I need to decide which of the things I love are most important on any given day, and not try to do all of them. It's not easy, and being is so important for the soul!
I so relate to this. I am also a chronic optimist about how much I can get done or handle! I’ve committed to doing one post a month on here and it feels like such a meagre amount, but I know it’s all I can handle at this stage of my life. I do also feel there’s an overwhelming amount of content on here and readers might appreciate a slower publishing pace 🤷♀️
Naomi, I think the best publishing schedule is the one you can stick to wholeheartedly and feel good about. If that's once a month, that's great. I think one of our biggest challenges in life is to find our own pace and stick to it without judging ourselves. So good for you!
I am glad to read about your revised posting schedule and can appreciate how much work you've put into this in recent months. Slowing down is a good thing and I will savor your offerings as much with fewer posts. The pull of what you love will magnetize me as a reader going forward.
Thank you, Jill! I so appreciate your encouragement and support. Also, I really enjoy your posts. :)
Thanks, Susan. Once a week is all I can manage to post on Substack. And I have finally figured out that I need to set boundaries, well, at least here, in terms of the time I have available. Love all the good writing here, including your Substack.
Boundaries are critical, and can be adjusted as needed. The trick for me is noticing when I need to adjust--I'm slow at that!
I so appreciate when you post about adjusting your original plan. I read with gratitude that to take care of ourselves is our mission in life.
Thank you, Linda. It just amazes me how difficult it is to remember to take care of ourselves. But if we can't do that, we have nothing from which to share with the world.
Very appropriate for me today - Tim is recovering from surgery and I want to help him without paying attention to my energy limits. If I do that, I am worse and can’t help at all! Thank you for the encouragement and modeling to be present without pushing! And to adjust as I go if necessary!
That is so familiar, Kathryn. I took care of both my late husband and my mom through their deaths, and I often didn't realize I had overdone it until I crashed. And that was a problem. So good for you for recognizing that, and for doing your best to be aware of your energy limits. Adjusting as we go is a great skill to develop. :)
I took great comfort from walking along with you today. Elbow height? Honestly, kneecap height. (A hasty metaphor for how much you know and sense of all worlds; and how much I don’t know in comparison) The words from Rumi’s perception and pen are delightful. Energizing.
The look and feel of your Living (Spirit?) Room is a delight for souls and eyes. Your firewood mountain called up memories of an earlier life that also relied on firewood. Warmth, cooking, warming my coffee cup.
Simply I thank you for today’s Essay for: Year of Thinking Spiritually - - Month 2, Week 3. Knowing I can find some of your work here on Substack gives a similar feeling to when I was a child, carrying a drawstring cotton bag containing cat’s eye marbles, larger shooter cat’s eyes, and a few ball bearing “marbles” to show I was prepared for anything. Or hoped to be. All the very best today and always.
Thank you for the compliments, Gary, as well as the chuckles! Blessings to you!
Hi Susan, I'm not sure what the problem is but I am a paid subscriber and a message tells me I need to upgrade to paid?
Lindy, if you mean the message at the very end of the post that thanks you for reading and suggests you subscribe, that's just part of every post. If you saw the whole post down to that message, you're logged in as a paid subscriber. Sorry for the confusion!
I’m glad you are taking care of yourself. I too am often guilty of overcommitting! I think that just might be a constant lifelong thing to try to learn. Enthusiasm is an asset and of course every asset can also be a challenge.
Yeah, we're a learning and doing culture, not so much on the being part! And you are quite right: every asset is a spectrum from wonderfully helpful/useful to whoops!--way over the edge. :)
Thanks for modeling a sustainable pace of writing and life. Rumi and O’Donohue are two of my go-to spiritual guides. A dear friend who has since passed on gave me “Anam Cara,” thanks for the reminder to dig back into it.
You are welcome! I had a copy of Anam Cara on my shelf for a long time, unread, and then someone borrowed it and it never returned. So I was delighted to be lent my friend's copy, annotated from his readings for a theology degree. I find reading a pre-loved copy makes O'Donohue even deeper and more resonant. :)
One of the things I appreciate about the writers I follow on Substack is the honesty they offer about their lives and their work. Your update was important for me to hear this morning. As a new writer on Substack, my enthusiasm was over the top! But, yesterday, I felt that familiar internal pressure to do, to achieve, instead of honoring my time and my need to just be. On paper, I am retired as of last year, but I find myself battling with my many interests, desires and promises. On some days I am exhausted from simlply doing all that I love. That pull is a strong one.
I hear you! One of the things about getting older for me is learning to recognize that I have less energy, and thus I need to decide which of the things I love are most important on any given day, and not try to do all of them. It's not easy, and being is so important for the soul!
I so relate to this. I am also a chronic optimist about how much I can get done or handle! I’ve committed to doing one post a month on here and it feels like such a meagre amount, but I know it’s all I can handle at this stage of my life. I do also feel there’s an overwhelming amount of content on here and readers might appreciate a slower publishing pace 🤷♀️
Naomi, I think the best publishing schedule is the one you can stick to wholeheartedly and feel good about. If that's once a month, that's great. I think one of our biggest challenges in life is to find our own pace and stick to it without judging ourselves. So good for you!