Good News & Gratitude #13
Plus: Special Announcement About Upcoming Event with Leslie Stephens!!
Hello Dear Beyonders!
I’m bursting with gratitude for so much in my life these days; I often feel like a benevolent being is watching over me. This is a very (very!) rare feeling for me but one I’m discovering that I quite enjoy!
There’s a lot I could share but the most bursting-my-heart gratitude is for all of you! Thank you Beyonders for helping me to bring my vision to life. There seems to be so much sorrow in the world right now, and I want to offer as much light and hope as possible! Light and hope that is grounded in deep wisdom and compassion and kindness channeled through the words of some of our greatest and wisest and most tender-hearted writers. Together, we’re making that happen! Thank you!
Speaking of which, I had some pretty magnificent light shone on Beyond this month from two people I admire beyond measure: Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert. Both are tremendously gifted writers and tremendously beautiful, generous humans. And they both said such lovely things about me and Beyond. After which my heart grew so big I wasn’t sure it would still fit in this rather petite body of mine. But so far, at least, it’s holding.
I posted a big shoutout of gratitude in Notes last week but I realize many of you don’t use Notes so I thought I’d make mention of it here, as well. We really do all need one another. It’s just a fact.
So my shoutout of gratitude this week is for beautiful humans who help lift up others! For me, in particular, Liz and Cheryl. Deepest bone marrow gratitude!
How about you, Beyonders! What are you grateful for these days? Anyone shine their light of joy on you lately? What’s your good news? Any lucky breaks? Unexpected bliss? Ongoing sources of joy? I’d love to hear! ❤️
Really Good News: We had so many new paids (thank you!), our monthly donation to The DeTommaso Dogs will be nearly four times the usual. This makes me so dang happy! Ana works absolutely tirelessly to save these dogs. She sees some truly horrifying situations and faces regular heartache. Yet she keeps going. And so many many many dogs that would otherwise be dead or continue to live in dire circumstances now have beautiful loving homes. I’m delighted we Beyonders are a part of this. ❤️
Special Announcement: I’m excited to share that
and I will be hosting a live conversation and community chat about rest on February 4th at 12 pm ET for paid subscribers. This event is capped at 200, and the details along with a link to RSVP are at the bottom of this post (behind a paywall - upgrade to access).I first met Leslie when she wrote this gorgeous, tender essay about her relationship with her dog Toast. And her Substack,
, was one of the first I subscribed to and still look forward to reading each week (I pick up so many great tips and recommendations!). Although we live on opposite sides of the country and were born decades apart, we were astounded by how much we had in common: dogs, long walks, early divorces, good food, and go-go-go personalities who struggle to rest.As many of you may remember, I hit a minor burnout during the summer. I made some changes that I sometimes keep up with (I feel so much better when I do!) and sometimes don’t. But I’ve been curious about rest ever since. I’ve spoken with heaps of friends about it, made this post in Notes, and started my first (and thus far, only) Chat about it. What is rest? How do we rest? It seems it manifests differently for all of us.
Until recently, I’ve never really wanted to rest! Lately, I’ve been picking apart why. Here’s what I’ve come up with: 1. For many, many years I was extremely limited in what I was able to do due to my health. I’ve come to realize that resting (unconsciously!) scares me that I’m slipping backwards. Also: Because so many years were spent in deep survival mode, I have a lot I want to catch up on! 2. My parents grew up in London during the War and part of their coping skills, and the necessity of their lives, was to go-go-go. Stopping is a sign of defeat. It’s in my blood! 3. I have insatiable curiosity and sense of adventure. There’s so much I want to discover in this big world of ours. And I want to fit it all in. 4. I’m responsible for a lot.
Leslie’s story is a bit different (she’ll share hers during our chat) but we ended up in an incredibly similar place. And I know from the two threads shared above, a lot of you are there, too!
So, let’s talk about it! How did we get here? What’s working? What’s confusing? Is “active rest” really rest? Do I need to stop everything and just sit with my thoughts? The list of questions is long!
I hope you’ll join us. Details and link to reserve your spot below: