Guten Tag, Reader,

Quickly, AirPods in place, I made my way up the trail. I had convinced myself that for 30 minutes, the wildflowers mattered more than my to-do list. Alas, they weren’t even blooming here, compared to the south-facing ones closer to town. My soul was a bit disappointed, but my inner manager was pleased. We might make it even quicker if there’s no awe.

I approached the giant Ponderosa that’s always inviting me to stop, and this time, I could not resist. Even my inner manager was quiet. Or maybe intuition was just so loud and clear.

I paused, turned the podcast off, and sat with my back against the tree. Other hikers walked past me, some noticing me*, others too busy with their dogs, friends, or thoughts.

As I sat there, my exhale lengthened, and it felt like time had stretched. And the noise in my brain quieted enough for clarity to get a word in finally. I came home later than I thought, and it turned out nothing collapsed because I sat under a tree for twenty minutes. Nobody suffered, not even my inner manager. The world kept spinning. Annnd I finished my remaining tasks much quicker.

But the quickly finished tasks weren’t the most important part here.

It’s that I didn’t ignore who I am and what I Know. The version of me that sat under the tree finished the day with more clarity, more steadiness, and far less resentment than the version that white-knuckles her way through the days.

In a culture that seems to measure a midlife woman’s worth by how much she can carry without collapsing, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to hear our inner voice calling for something different. And if we don’t make an effort to listen, our bodies might simply stop cooperating with our self-abandonment.

Mine sure did.*

How often have you walked past an invitation to explore something meaningful, like the box of crayons that makes you smile every time you watch your kids make art?

How often have you convinced yourself to answer one more email, do one more load of laundry, solve one more person’s problem, rather than following your intuition toward an easier, calmer, more aligned path? Most of the time, intuition doesn’t sound dramatic. Sometimes it sounds like wanting to sit under a tree for ten more minutes.

What can you quit this week, if even for a day, to make your life a little lighter?

Thank you for making time to read this letter. It means a lot.

Always on your side, truly,

P.S. I’d love to hear what part of your Self you’ve been walking past lately. Simply respond to this email to start a conversation.

* I went through years of chronic pain until I reduced my corporate workload and increased my weekly dosage of nature immersion. Happy to share more if you want to hear the details of my healing journey.

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