I have been thinking for awhile about the community I am trying to build over here. I wanted to choose a title for this Substack that made sense with that idea. So, here it is.
If you are a tender-hearted person who finds yourself being told that you “care too much” or you are “sensitive” or “soft” well, this is the place for you! Those of us who feel the weight of the world on our shoulders and are constantly told that we are making things into a bigger deal than they are or should be. You know who you are. The sensitive souls and tender-hearted loves. People like this tend to slant a bit melancholy at times. Understandably so… have you SEEN the news? The world is full of horrors! How can you NOT care deeply??
(here is Atlas, carrying the world on his shoulders)
But also, if this is not you and you still find yourself resonating with some things here, it may be because you have had flashes of these moments. You just may be able to move on from them more quickly. Or maybe you love someone who is a tender-hearted soul. This place is for you too. I am not an exclusive kind of person so if you find yourself resonating with my words and work, you are for sure welcome here.
I also want those of us who feel things deeply- the Mariana trench got NOTHING on us!- to know that this is place for all of the feelings. Here is a place where we will be putting people first. Humans are the most important commodity on the planet. And we have a great responsibility to take care of ourselves and each other and this dear planet that we live on. We care about ALL of it.
The inspiration for the title comes from a favorite LM Montgomery quote from the classic “Anne of Green Gables.”
This hangs on my bulletin board in my office and is a print from the lovely shop called Carrot Top Paper Shop on Etsy. She makes a lot of beautiful literary themed art and stickers and prints. She is also on Instagram. Shout out to my adorable Belle pin from Disneyland Paris that my best friend got me when he was there last year.
I love Anne Shirley. She has been a dear character friend of mine since I was a tiny girl in Colorado. I absolutely adore LM Montgomery and her beautiful descriptions of Prince Edward Island in the entire Anne Series.
This quote describes me so well. I am usually doing pretty well all things considered. I have a job, a family, friends, a car, a dog… but I find myself constantly feeling so rumpled up in spirit. The world has an affect on me. The people I am around do too. I am an empath and tend to absorb the energy of the room I am in. I have learned as I have gotten older that I need to be able to differentiate from the emotions around me instead of taking them on and that is a constant practice. I am drawn to suffering. I see it all around me every day. I notice the person crying in their car in traffic or on the train. I see the pain in stranger’s eyes and feel called to do something for them. I feel things so deeply. I have had to learn which feelings are my own and which are not. It is a lifelong practice.
So a rumpled spirit really resonates. Here is a space where I am talking about life. I feel constantly pulled between many points of view. I grew up in a fairly conservative family in Colorado. We have outdoorsmen, hunters, fishers and gun owners. I married into a family that is a bit wild and has a lot of rough around the edges people. I moved to Nashville almost 15 years ago. Experiencing life in the South has changed a lot of my perspectives. I have gotten more progressive and Liberal as I have gotten more exposed to different points of view and had more education. I now am raising my kids with vastly different ideas than the ones I was raised with. My religious life has transformed from what it used to be too. So many points of view. So much change and transformation.
Rumples.
So, I may not have answers but I sure as hell love to talk about all things about Life. I am a mom, a sister, a wife, an aunt, a daughter, a granddaughter, a business owner and so much more.
I am also a writer and poet.
I am so happy to share a space with my fellow writers and creatives on this app and am so grateful for any person who is taking the time to read these words.
I cannot wait to see what we all can create here together. Looking forward to much more space for our tenderness here together.
Sending love to you out there in the ether
Stef