Dear ones. I've lately embarked on a period of productive self reflection and very intentional healing. More accurately, I'm finally back in the physically and creatively nourishing groove I carved out for myself years ago -- when I first started Writing on the Internet ™, consulting a therapist (who I still see, five years later), starting my day with morning pages, eating to sustain myself, and diligently working through all my shit. As my beautiful friend and tarot card reader, Whit, told me last night over dandelion and chicory root tea, I was on the mountain.

Over the course of the past few years, I must have tripped on some loose rubble, tumbled back down said mountain, hit my head on a petrified pine root; then, fully concussed, started wandering through the thicket in the valley below, thinking I was someone else entirely.

I'm a person who tends to oscillate between extremes, anyway (I wrote this almost two years ago, and it still feels relevant). When I'm not on the mountain, I'm either addicted to the hustle, running on alternating swigs of cold brew and tequila, running in impractical shoes and a skin tight minidress with a wolf pack likewise frenzied and ravenous; OR I'm recuperating -- having blown out my blazing adrenals, I'm in bed by nine, too mind-body charred to put any of my tried and true self care rituals into practice. Which is a damn shame because those practices largely make me me.

I was onto something when I initially discovered a way to marry my opposing natures: when you're a characteristically performative writer with a vested interest in the way personal stories -- stories of breaking down demons and figuring out how best to live in a way that positively impacts the world, stories of mending wounds and directing that displaced hurt at building a meaningful life, stories of sustainable self care for the greater good -- shape humanity, it makes sense to bring those stories to light. And in that context, it makes sense to be at once a loud, flashy mouthpiece and a quiet crafter of tales.

I get to be both. And I am inspired, grateful, and hopefully, ready.

Real quick: from my mountain (I am not one to let a unifying theme slip through my witchy fingers), I'm working on several projects that I'm sososo excited about. I can't talk about all of them yet, but here are some tokens of future truth:

Infrequently Asked Questions will soon be a podcast! Non-readers, rejoice!
I have magical, cross-country collaborations in the works!
A wholesome, substantive event series is simmering!
You can now sign up for my newsletter and load your inbox up with love! From me! (!!!)

That's all for now. I'm grateful for you.

- Rose

The Space Between: Maintaining Peace, Ditching #Dramz, and Important Life Updates