Hu Anne - thank you for this beautiful, hopeful post. I needed it today. 2025 is looking to be another year of constant work and upheaval for me, so finding things to look forward to is harder, and doubly important! I AM looking forward to the release of my next book, which should be late in the year. I've had to give up three different conferences I was supposed to go to, for both personal and political reasons, which is frankly rather soul-crushing, not to mention the anniversary trip my spouse and I were supposed to take - but they need shoulder surgery, and it's going to be a long recovery. So it's going to be another year of finding small joys, I think. I will keep trying!
Hello Emily! I’m so glad that my post found you when you needed it! Congrats on the book coming out this year!! And here’s hoping you find plenty of those smaller joys. :)
Did you know that Adrienne Monnier, owner of the Paris bookshop La Maison des Amis des Livres and the lifetime partner of Sylvia Beach, also had Meniere's?
I’m nodding at the notion of living for ourselves and doing what pleases us…. And this “We will be looking at how the dark times of life also offer us the most creative potential.” This feels like my constant search and struggle. I’m deeply curious about this, and I hope you’ll share more here on this topic.
Anne, I am wishing you healing and rest, physical and mental, as you settle into Manchester and find connection in your new community. So much change and transition and upheaval in such a short span of time is a drain on all your inner resources. I'm inserting my advocacy for your adrenal system and encourage you to make certain you are also getting adrenal support!
Thank you for the gracious setting of boundaries around political discussion in a space devoted to creative exploration.
I am looking forward to advancing through menopause. This past year has been so stressful externally-a huge upheaval at work, followed by a decision to leave that job and the stress of transitioning to a new one- managing the rollercoaster of having a novel on submission and the cruelties of publishing- all of this while starting menopause. Going from three-week long periods to hot flashes almost overnight- I'm exhausted! But I'm also relieved that it's underway.
I also look forward to continuing on the path of reconstructing my faith and integrating my writing into this new, or renewed, space I am opening around me. Interestingly, the notion of "living for myself" is one that is resonating less and less as I seek ways to use the creative gifts I have been given more openly and in ways that create space for others. I don't yet know what that looks or feels like, but learning stillness, receptivity and asking "What is mine to do?" are part of the daily internal work.
So beautiful, as always, Julie!! Thank you! 🙏 May you find the opportunities to share your gifts that you are craving! The world we certainly be a better place for it! :)
Sorry to hear you were so unwell, Anne, but hopefully your move to Manchester will help. As others have noted, you tend to drive yourself quite relentlessly.
My word for the new year is ENJOY. I am also getting the REST I needed and feeling better for it.
My stay in Mexico has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but has now taken a good turn so things are opening up. It is so beautiful here at times I feel a sense of renewal. The mornings are exquisite.
Following Lama Tsultrim at Tara Mandala has been opening up all kinds of possibilities for me. It is a powerful connection with the divine feminine and exactly what I have been craving. In her book Wisdom Rising, she discusses the healing power of mandalas and I was surprised to find a photo of the bottom of a pine cone, just like the porcelain ones all over Palermo. They provide a natural mandala, as does a cabbage cut in half.
Your Almanac project sounds fascinating so I may give one of the free workshops a try.
So sorry you’ve been unwell, and hope you feel much better soon! Having made my own audacious leap to the UK — which I never thought possible — I’m looking forward to a year of creative agency over my life. Not control, rather how I want to direct my life and time, knowing that’s actually, factually, possible to do.
Hi Anne, here's, "something audacious" for you: slow down!
I'm getting vertiginous just by imagining your productivity. Do you think I'm expecting a weekly newsletter when I know you're on the move again? Nope..., I'm not even expecting it when you're not moving ;)
Leaving Scotland, where you've longed so long to live, this alone must rattle your nerves and emotions, and then to find a new place and settle in besides the study, and doing all this in winter as well... pff... give yourself some time-out... that's what your newsletter brought to me to tell you.
Furthermore, "[...] had to wait so long to get an appointment that my symptoms sometimes abated on their own after weeks of struggling"
Isn't that the language of the body, to get a rest, which might feel as a struggle when we're so focused on 'what we want to do', which I also want to relate to "the darkness" in us, meaning whatever we don't see/feel and therefore not know, and thus won't heal, and as a side note I'm sure I wasn't created in darkness.
Mum/dad loved each other and pronto that's me created, but yeah, the gestation period was pretty dark and I took with me some dark spots, but hehe... that's why I'm here... to allow the light to penetrate wherever I'm still in the dark and this 'humaniversity' we normally call 'world' is helpful to realise what the enlightening lessons are, that's why I feel it's very important to re-ally with the body because the seed of it's purpose will start kicking and screaming when I keep running with a sense of urgency to where I want to go and indeed need to "weave natural, seasonal rhythms" in the way I move in the direction of my desires.
To also answer your question "What are you looking forward to this year?"
at the moment, I'm playing for radio host to express myself (letting some pressure off), sharing what 'allowing healing' means to me and getting ready for online learn & share gatherings to heal and raise consciousness without method, system, curriculum, central figures, and authorities to allow participants (max. 9) bring to the table what's going on in life, so that we have an opportunity to relate without guidelines.
We all have powerful stories to tell and wisdom emerges when we start sharing them.
It's so simple, just gather, and healing happens. Many people are freaked out by its simplicity 🤗 and that's why it might be called audacious what I'm looking forward to. Love 💜 Pascalle
Hi Anne! I'm so sorry you're struggling with your illness...I hope the new medicine will help! I'm looking forward to so much this year...exploring my new home, participating in my new writing group, attending events, making friends...today my daughter and I are headed to Yorktown and Jamestown, and I'm bringing my camera. It's been a few months since I've had the opportunity to take any photos. There's a book festival in my new town next month, along with another writing group meeting, and soooo many things going on in Colonial Williamsburg. On the writing front, I'm plotting my new novel and loving it. I'm so damn proud of myself for making this move and creating this new life!
Yay!!! It all sounds amazing! I'm so happy for you. :) It's such a lovely area with so much interesting history. And it's great you are finding writers to connect with. Once my symptoms calm down, I look forward to explore this area has to offer as well.
Thanks so much for this, Anne! I always enjoy your inspiring messages. I am ensconced in a writing retreat at present finishing a book manuscript, and it feels great. If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to know the name of the new Meniere's drug you're trying. I also have it, and any information is good information! Wishing you the very best. Sending love across the miles.
"More studies are needed, but it is now clear that betahistine is effective in Ménière’s disease – after 40 years of clinical use it would have been surprising if this were not the case." It's insane that it's not given to patients in the US.
Hi Rochelle! It’s so great to hear from you and to hear that you’re finishing a book manuscript! I’m sorry to hear that you live with Meniere’s as well. :( The medication is Betahistine. I was just reading a study about it. It is widely used here. I think it is helping in that my symptoms are getting milder. But I’m only on day 3, and they say it can take a couple of weeks to really work.
Thanks, Anne. I'm sorry *you* live with Meniere's, too. I know Betahistine--have taken it for about two years now. Thanks for the link to the study. And thanks for your fantastic work, as always! Hope you continue to feel better.
That’s great to hear, Rochelle! I had heard that it wasn’t prescribed in the US, and it certainly wasn’t when I was still seeking treatment from doctors back in 2019.
This question is SO important. I am looking forward to finding my home and finally settling in somewhere in Europe. I just arrived in Italy with my daughter so we are one step closer to deciding where home will be! Right now I’m trying not to rush the process. I think a lot can be learned from the space in between.
Thank you, Anne, for offering this space and time to consider what we are looking forward to. I'm particularly excited to be compiling a poetry manuscript focused on the feminine and stages of womanhood. As an old woman (Yes, 65 is considered old and I embrace it along with being intelligent, witty, creative and sometimes pretty!)I am working through the lenses of both intellect and experience. It's very exciting!
Hu Anne - thank you for this beautiful, hopeful post. I needed it today. 2025 is looking to be another year of constant work and upheaval for me, so finding things to look forward to is harder, and doubly important! I AM looking forward to the release of my next book, which should be late in the year. I've had to give up three different conferences I was supposed to go to, for both personal and political reasons, which is frankly rather soul-crushing, not to mention the anniversary trip my spouse and I were supposed to take - but they need shoulder surgery, and it's going to be a long recovery. So it's going to be another year of finding small joys, I think. I will keep trying!
Hello Emily! I’m so glad that my post found you when you needed it! Congrats on the book coming out this year!! And here’s hoping you find plenty of those smaller joys. :)
I’m glad that you are getting good treatment for your Meniere’s, Anne, and that you are feeling better. What a great adventure—moving to Manchester!
Thank you, Donna!
My big hope is that you are feeling better!
Yes, better. Still some dizziness but not debilitating vertigo.
SO GLAD!
Did you know that Adrienne Monnier, owner of the Paris bookshop La Maison des Amis des Livres and the lifetime partner of Sylvia Beach, also had Meniere's?
I’m nodding at the notion of living for ourselves and doing what pleases us…. And this “We will be looking at how the dark times of life also offer us the most creative potential.” This feels like my constant search and struggle. I’m deeply curious about this, and I hope you’ll share more here on this topic.
I’m glad that resonated with you, Emily, and I’m sure I will write about it sometime. :)
More time and space to write. Thank you, Anne, and I hope you are feeling better.
Thank you, I am!
Anne, I am wishing you healing and rest, physical and mental, as you settle into Manchester and find connection in your new community. So much change and transition and upheaval in such a short span of time is a drain on all your inner resources. I'm inserting my advocacy for your adrenal system and encourage you to make certain you are also getting adrenal support!
Thank you for the gracious setting of boundaries around political discussion in a space devoted to creative exploration.
I am looking forward to advancing through menopause. This past year has been so stressful externally-a huge upheaval at work, followed by a decision to leave that job and the stress of transitioning to a new one- managing the rollercoaster of having a novel on submission and the cruelties of publishing- all of this while starting menopause. Going from three-week long periods to hot flashes almost overnight- I'm exhausted! But I'm also relieved that it's underway.
I also look forward to continuing on the path of reconstructing my faith and integrating my writing into this new, or renewed, space I am opening around me. Interestingly, the notion of "living for myself" is one that is resonating less and less as I seek ways to use the creative gifts I have been given more openly and in ways that create space for others. I don't yet know what that looks or feels like, but learning stillness, receptivity and asking "What is mine to do?" are part of the daily internal work.
So beautiful, as always, Julie!! Thank you! 🙏 May you find the opportunities to share your gifts that you are craving! The world we certainly be a better place for it! :)
Sorry to hear you were so unwell, Anne, but hopefully your move to Manchester will help. As others have noted, you tend to drive yourself quite relentlessly.
My word for the new year is ENJOY. I am also getting the REST I needed and feeling better for it.
My stay in Mexico has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but has now taken a good turn so things are opening up. It is so beautiful here at times I feel a sense of renewal. The mornings are exquisite.
Following Lama Tsultrim at Tara Mandala has been opening up all kinds of possibilities for me. It is a powerful connection with the divine feminine and exactly what I have been craving. In her book Wisdom Rising, she discusses the healing power of mandalas and I was surprised to find a photo of the bottom of a pine cone, just like the porcelain ones all over Palermo. They provide a natural mandala, as does a cabbage cut in half.
Your Almanac project sounds fascinating so I may give one of the free workshops a try.
Wishing you well.
ENJOY and REST sound absolutely perfect! Do try one of the free Alamanac programs. I’ll be sharing a full list in this week’s post.
I am looking forward to disengaging without guilt! Sending support to all as we start 2025.
Sounds like a great goal for the year! Hope you’re doing well, Stacy!
This: For women to step off the societally ordained path—to live for ourselves and do what pleases us and no one else—is truly audacious.
I really need this as my future mantra or mental tattoo!
So sorry you’ve been unwell, and hope you feel much better soon! Having made my own audacious leap to the UK — which I never thought possible — I’m looking forward to a year of creative agency over my life. Not control, rather how I want to direct my life and time, knowing that’s actually, factually, possible to do.
Delighted for you, Anne.
Hi Anne, here's, "something audacious" for you: slow down!
I'm getting vertiginous just by imagining your productivity. Do you think I'm expecting a weekly newsletter when I know you're on the move again? Nope..., I'm not even expecting it when you're not moving ;)
Leaving Scotland, where you've longed so long to live, this alone must rattle your nerves and emotions, and then to find a new place and settle in besides the study, and doing all this in winter as well... pff... give yourself some time-out... that's what your newsletter brought to me to tell you.
Furthermore, "[...] had to wait so long to get an appointment that my symptoms sometimes abated on their own after weeks of struggling"
Isn't that the language of the body, to get a rest, which might feel as a struggle when we're so focused on 'what we want to do', which I also want to relate to "the darkness" in us, meaning whatever we don't see/feel and therefore not know, and thus won't heal, and as a side note I'm sure I wasn't created in darkness.
Mum/dad loved each other and pronto that's me created, but yeah, the gestation period was pretty dark and I took with me some dark spots, but hehe... that's why I'm here... to allow the light to penetrate wherever I'm still in the dark and this 'humaniversity' we normally call 'world' is helpful to realise what the enlightening lessons are, that's why I feel it's very important to re-ally with the body because the seed of it's purpose will start kicking and screaming when I keep running with a sense of urgency to where I want to go and indeed need to "weave natural, seasonal rhythms" in the way I move in the direction of my desires.
To also answer your question "What are you looking forward to this year?"
at the moment, I'm playing for radio host to express myself (letting some pressure off), sharing what 'allowing healing' means to me and getting ready for online learn & share gatherings to heal and raise consciousness without method, system, curriculum, central figures, and authorities to allow participants (max. 9) bring to the table what's going on in life, so that we have an opportunity to relate without guidelines.
We all have powerful stories to tell and wisdom emerges when we start sharing them.
It's so simple, just gather, and healing happens. Many people are freaked out by its simplicity 🤗 and that's why it might be called audacious what I'm looking forward to. Love 💜 Pascalle
Thank you, Okeko. I appreciate these reminders to give myself a break! :)
Hi Anne! I'm so sorry you're struggling with your illness...I hope the new medicine will help! I'm looking forward to so much this year...exploring my new home, participating in my new writing group, attending events, making friends...today my daughter and I are headed to Yorktown and Jamestown, and I'm bringing my camera. It's been a few months since I've had the opportunity to take any photos. There's a book festival in my new town next month, along with another writing group meeting, and soooo many things going on in Colonial Williamsburg. On the writing front, I'm plotting my new novel and loving it. I'm so damn proud of myself for making this move and creating this new life!
Yay!!! It all sounds amazing! I'm so happy for you. :) It's such a lovely area with so much interesting history. And it's great you are finding writers to connect with. Once my symptoms calm down, I look forward to explore this area has to offer as well.
Thank you! And yes, I hope you feel better soon so you can go and explore!
Thanks so much for this, Anne! I always enjoy your inspiring messages. I am ensconced in a writing retreat at present finishing a book manuscript, and it feels great. If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to know the name of the new Meniere's drug you're trying. I also have it, and any information is good information! Wishing you the very best. Sending love across the miles.
Here's the study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2655085/
"More studies are needed, but it is now clear that betahistine is effective in Ménière’s disease – after 40 years of clinical use it would have been surprising if this were not the case." It's insane that it's not given to patients in the US.
Hi Rochelle! It’s so great to hear from you and to hear that you’re finishing a book manuscript! I’m sorry to hear that you live with Meniere’s as well. :( The medication is Betahistine. I was just reading a study about it. It is widely used here. I think it is helping in that my symptoms are getting milder. But I’m only on day 3, and they say it can take a couple of weeks to really work.
Thanks, Anne. I'm sorry *you* live with Meniere's, too. I know Betahistine--have taken it for about two years now. Thanks for the link to the study. And thanks for your fantastic work, as always! Hope you continue to feel better.
That’s great to hear, Rochelle! I had heard that it wasn’t prescribed in the US, and it certainly wasn’t when I was still seeking treatment from doctors back in 2019.
This question is SO important. I am looking forward to finding my home and finally settling in somewhere in Europe. I just arrived in Italy with my daughter so we are one step closer to deciding where home will be! Right now I’m trying not to rush the process. I think a lot can be learned from the space in between.
Indeed! I’ve been living in that space for 2.5 years now. :)
I knew I connected with your writing for a reason :)
Thank you, Anne, for offering this space and time to consider what we are looking forward to. I'm particularly excited to be compiling a poetry manuscript focused on the feminine and stages of womanhood. As an old woman (Yes, 65 is considered old and I embrace it along with being intelligent, witty, creative and sometimes pretty!)I am working through the lenses of both intellect and experience. It's very exciting!
It sounds like a wonderful project, Kim. Enjoy every minute of it!