From Silence To Flourishing

Navigating Change with Compassion and Courage

Hello, dear kindred!

How are you, lovely soul?! It feels like it's been ages since we last connected. Where did the last few months go?!! I've missed sharing thoughts in this space with you.

I’m back with an open heart today, embracing challenges, changes and new beginnings. Grab a cuppa and get cosy… this is a long one! 💌

First, a life update:

I recently completed my Master’s degree in Creative Writing and Wellbeing. Yayyyy!!!!! 🎓 💃🏻🎉

Official results are pending, but I am happy to share that I earned a distinction for my thesis, which explored the impact of compassion-led practices and writing on neurodivergent wellbeing. I also reflected on the process of intentionally redesigning this Substack site as 'She Sprouted Wings' to realign with my focus on flourishing.

I now have more conviction in the potency of my practices and writing. I also have a newfound appreciation for writing's ability to foster well-being and connection. It’s been a profound and fulfilling journey.

Good to see the perfectionism paid off with the presentation 🤭

Embracing Challenges

I'll be honest—the MA process wasn’t without its struggles. Balancing academic demands with life’s plot twists brought moments when everything felt overwhelming. There were weeks when sharing felt impossible, when opening my inbox or sending a message to dear friends seemed beyond my capacity.

Many of us have been there—feeling overwhelmed, retreating into silence, and finding it hard to reach out. Waiting until we find our way back to ourselves before feeling able to reconnect with our kindreds. If you’ve felt that way, I see you. It’s okay to take space and time. It’s an act of self-reverence… although I know it brings tension from the push/pull of wanting to honour your ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’ but being unable to!

On that note, I want to thank those of you who left thoughtful words on my last post. Even though I couldn't reply then, your words meant so much to me. Your kindness hasn’t gone unnoticed, and I’ll reply soon (it’s a must!). 🙏

Given the times we are in, with rapid shifts and changes around the world and the challenges our fellow humans face, I know I’m not alone in ‘embracing’ the growth opportunities that challenges bring. If you’re in that season of life, I offer the following thoughts:

When life feels compressive, zoom out to the patterns in the skies for a new perspective. The themes unfolding currently are about challenge, change and new beginnings 🌚

In the words of soulful Astrologer and Author Jennifer Racioppi:

With the equinox recently in our wake and Libra season in full roar, [last week's] annular solar eclipse in Libra—the second of two eclipses in a row—opens the portal for change.

Eclipses correlate with a lack of predictability and often accompany unexpected, broad, sweeping changes. We don't need to look far to see evidence of this sentiment.

Yet eclipse cycles and the corresponding turning points in time that often accompany them beckon us to consider our most critical foundational commitments, how best to honor them, and to shed outgrown iterations of life.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone. May you trust in your turning points and find your way home to yourself as you journey. 🦋

Embracing Change

Have you ever looked at the similarity between the words challenges and change? Here’s how my quirky magical brain sees it:

CHA(LLE)NGES = LENS (kinda) + CHANGE

I once created a course for an app that helps women navigate the changes of menopause. I went through menopause at 43 after a hysterectomy, and the course was based on my discovery that embracing challenges can offer an empowering lens through which to view change.

This perspective invites a glimmer of hope when dealing with change. Hope shows up in magical ways, such as through song lyrics, cloud shapes, love-heart-shaped stones on the beach, and words in poems.

Morgan Harper Nichols

, a fellow neurodivergent author, wrote the following words in her beautiful book, ‘All Along You Were Blooming.’ They offered salvation for my tender heart one morning; suddenly, life felt more hopeful.

In my last post, I shared my heartbreak after entering a new relationship four years after my divorce. That vulnerability marked the start of a transformative period for me, and this year has brought profound changes. I’m not the same person who entered 2024, and I’m learning to embrace each evolving part of myself.

At 54, I’m uncovering new truths about myself. Being diagnosed with ADHD at 52 and, more recently, discovering that I'm also on the autism spectrum has given me a deeper understanding of myself. Some days, dealing with executive dysfunction and sensory overload depletes my porridge pot of energy, and even basic functioning feels like an accomplishment.

But through these changes, I’m learning to treat myself with the same patience and compassion I would offer a dear friend. I’m also learning that it’s okay to move slowly, press pause, and start again.

Embracing change is a process. But then, life is about the process, not the destination.

Embracing New Beginnings

During this period of quiet reflection, I’ve been gently transforming. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary. And now, I feel ready to share something that’s been growing quietly within me—a new project called Flourishing Kindreds.

Flourishing Kindreds will offer a virtual (and maybe in-person) community where we can come together to explore what it means to flourish, especially for those of us who feel different or walk less conventional paths. It’s a vision that blends my years of embodiment training, space holding, personal experiences, and academic knowledge to create spaces for embodied expression.

As a woman who is ‘childless by circumstance,’ I’ve spent time contemplating what legacy means to me. I’ve realised that my legacy isn’t marked by traditional milestones but by the words I offer, the connections I nurture, the community I gently build, and the ripples of love we create by coming together in circles.

My journey doesn’t always look like growth, but I’m learning that flourishing can also mean gentle persistence and showing up for ourselves in small, tender ways.

As I enter the second half of my 54th year, I’m filled with hope for this next chapter. Flourishing Kindreds is more than a project—it’s an invitation to embrace who we are, express ourselves, and thrive together.

Gently. Slowly. Compassionately.

One small step at a time. 

For now, I’m grateful to be here, sharing my heart on the page and reconnecting with you. And open and willing to lean into the flow of what unfolds next!

Over to You!

If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear how you’ve navigated your quiet seasons. Feel free to share and connect in the comments—let’s encourage each other 🙌

Are you seeking a nurturing community of soulful kindreds? If my vision for Flourishing Kindreds speaks to your heart, please leave a love note below! 💌

As part of this next chapter, I’m also contemplating the creation of a cosy space right here on Substack, called the Flourishing Kindreds Café. It’s a seedling idea, and I would deeply appreciate your input and thoughts.

Thank you for being here and journeying alongside me as we embrace change, challenges, and new beginnings together.

Until next time, go gently and give yourself grace,

With warmth, love, and gratitude,