23 Comments

Thankyou Josie for your beautiful and wise writing. I took so much from it today. X

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Thanks so much Wendy ❤️

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This is exactly what I needed to hear today. I’m going through a massive, rather worryingly lengthy drop in my energy levels right now, and it is very hard to let go of all the things that have become part of your identity, that you feel you must be doing no matter what. Maybe you cover this in your book, but there is a point, particularly as you age, where you start thinking, Will I get better, or is this the new normal for me? Thanks for helping me navigate that. Love and peace to you. May you always retain your amazing ability to know what matters most, and communicate that to the rest of us. xx

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Thank you Miranda, I'm so glad it felt pertinent. I too often go through that fear cycle of 'will I get better or is this it forever?'. It can be so consuming. The nice thing about refocusing on the micro level, just on this next step in front of you, is that you start to see that things ARE changing, all the time. Even when things feel stuck, there is a subtle ebb and flow and rise and fall in symptoms. Tuning into that can be really comforting and help us feel less like we're stuck in one place. Things are always moving! x

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You're a marvel, Josie. What a beautiful piece of writing describing (for me) the dynamic nature of stillness and just beyond. There are millions 'sitting in meditation' trying to achieve just this.

That's not to belittle in any way the catastrophic health issues you face daily and the imaginative curiosity you bring to so much in your own sphere of life.

Today i particularly resonate with your describing allowing gravity to sink through you again and again. Having experienced a short period like that recently, the moment of 'excruciating bliss' came as i allowed myself have more. I thought I'd never rise. For that one deep heavy tired experience i let go of the battle and rose slowly later far calmer than other episodes.

Thanks for popping up today. Love and many blessings winging your way.💚

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This is such a beautiful reply. I think it's my hours of sitting in meditation that have helped me shake off a lot of the battle. All of my fighting and stressing and forcing is just fear, it's just a kind of anxious grasping as I try to deny and avoid what's happening. Most of what we do as humans all stems from the fact that we don't like feeling how we actually feel in the moment, we don't want to feel things or experience things as they are. Meditation has definitely helped me to see that I do that. And the irony is, of course, as your excruciating bliss shows so beautifully, that surrender is the only way to the peace we crave. Thank you so much for reading x

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I've been struggling with a very slowly recovering TBI, and I so appreciate reading this today. It is a gift to be able to do whatever is next on our lists. To even have a list.

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Wishing you healing, Rita. Remembering that life would still be one step at time whether I was well or not has really helped me. And yes, every bit of movement forward is a celebration, isn't it? We're still here, still moving! Hurray!

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What a beautiful reminder to just keep going, albeit slowly, moving from one thing to the next, resting when you must, without wallowing or wishing you could do more. Thank you. I fail to remember that sometimes. And huge thanks for the shout out about Beauty Hunting - and your lovely words about it!

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My pleasure! Wishing you the very best of luck with it all xx

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So beautifully written and wise. So much to take from this!

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Thank you for reading, Bonnie!

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This post is the first I've read of your work. An odd synchronicity as I sit here at a cafe, struggling to concentrate, still dealing with chemo fog and try to sort out how to let go of all the drama. Thank you.

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Ah Ren. This sounds like a hard battle. I am wishing you the comfort of 'one day at a time' and all my hope for healing and peace. Thank you so much for reading x

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I am going to save this one for when I need it. I've got a very different life to yours in many ways - I've had decades of addiction to getting LOTS OF STUFF DONE and have been lucky enough to have a body that's allowed that. It's taking me a long time to work out that I have needed to insert more rest breaks into my to do lists, and that this helps everything else get brighter/deeper/more creative etc etc... I've just bought you a kofi and I'm also wondering if it's worth you turning on paid subs - I'm sure you have a good reason (maybe not wanting to be tied down to producing regular writing, or having the commitment of people paying for a year) but I for one would be totally happy to just pay without any expectations - that's part of the point of your work, to me - and you could let folk know the deal before they paid. Anyways no need to reply to that bit, just dropping my thoughts into the pot! I hope today has ease in it, sending very warm wishes from a sunny Malvern x

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Thank you hugely Satya, for the kind Kofi money and your beautiful encouragement. I appreciate that so much. The subs choice is a difficult one - I can't produce posts very reliably and also don't ever want money to be a barrier to people reading my work. I can't afford to subscribe to other paid Substacks so it doesn't feel right to make mine something exclusive. I am considering turning on the option to pay, while still always making my posts visible to everyone. But then, of course, a low-capacity few weeks comes along and I think about how sporadic that can make my posts. I know I would feel guilty for not delivering anything. I also know that once 'I must make this pay' comes into my creativity equation, my work really suffers. Managing expectations is hard, but maybe not impossible as you suggest! I will think on it and sort out what's just fear and what's right instinct, thank you so much x

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Yes - I hear all that - I try really hard to make space for my own writing that doesn't end up hedged in by expectation and pressure... it's hard enough anyway!! - but I've found that if I'm honest with my readers, then it's up to them - I think it'd be totally fine to say 'I might write a post a month or I might not, depending on energy etc, and so if you pay, you're paying to support me in my creative process, not to receive something particular' - even if it was just me, you'd have one paid subscriber 🤣 I know lots of writers here (like the wonderful Chris La Tray, and now Holly Whittaker) who have the 'everything free, pay to support me' model, seems to work for them. Anyway - maybe something for you to ponder - I'll stop trying to persuade you now!! Your gut will know the right thing. Have a lovely day - foggy here - I'm avoiding writing so I'm going to get back to it now 😊🤍

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Mar 1Edited

I always save up reading your blog because I know it will be a treat. What I keep forgetting is that sometimes it shows me a new way to think about how overwhelmed I feel much of the time. This is so helpful. Thank you.

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Oh Alex, I'm so glad. Thank you for your tender reading and thought xx

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Josie, you are a very wise human being. Thank you, as always, for your insight and your joy in the wonders around us. I don't have your way with words but I felt the need tonight to pass on to you my gratitude for the writing and the art that you give to us all.

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Thank you Julie, I appreciate that so much xx

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I can't begin to express how precious these words were to me this evening as I listen to the AI lady reading them out. My list post-relapse has been so punishing I realise... Your encouragement to stay truly and fully present to each next thing is like a lantern. Thank you for being you in every sentence Josie.

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Thank you Naomi. I really hope you can be kind to yourself today x

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