So nice to see you writing again my lovely. We’ve all missed your amazing and wonderful work, always so wise and inspiring, beautiful and thoughtful. I adore you 💕💕💕
Thanks for sharing the song you and your dear grandmother used to sing together. It evoked a feeling of nostalgia in me for the past summer--and for all past summers, really, when I've felt warm and happy. It's an emotion I have trouble feeling for the rapid change of fall into winter, but I've been trying my best recently to accept change. It's inevitable, and your grandmother was wise to know this so well.
Thank you Wendy for sharing your experience. I know what you mean. I also have a hard time accepting the change, but it's inevitable and necessary, and there's still so much beauty and value in that.
Nadia, your writing is exactly what I need at this juncture in my life, after a long dark season when I feel like my patience and resolve has reached its limit and I'm running on fumes hoping that there's a gas station around the next turn. Your relationship with your grandmother (love the song(s), life philosophy, expression about 'hands') reminds me alot of my step dad who passed away in 2010. He was a contractor, built my childhood home, and was overall a very humble and hard working person. I try to live up to the example he set, even though I know I won't even come close.
Joaquin, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Time heals, but not fully. We always feel the loss and longing. I'm also sad to know you're going through a physically and mentally taxing time. That's never easy. Bright days are ahead, have patience and be gentle with yourself.
Happy to see you back it. What a wonderful return. As the thoughts of weather change up here, I will think of you and your grandmother when I'm layering on the warmth. Thank you for sharing.
This reminds me of a passage in The Hagakure, which is a book of samurai philosophy. The writer, a samurai himself, mentions something called The Spirit of The Age. Basically, you make the best of each stage of your life - trying to recapture the essence of former times is as doomed an unsatisfying as trying to second guess the future. Its not exactly the same as what you've written here, but it reminded me of it. :o) I hope all is well, my friend.
I'm sorry it's been so tough for you. What's been new? I hope you feel better soon. Same for me. I've been struggling. But I'm doing everything to get back up. Have a lovely new week ahead!
Not a whole heap of new stuff, really. Got an appointment in November to discuss the condition itself, how its progressing and the possibility of surgery - all of which is pretty positive I think, at least its information. Hopefully some decisions will come out of it moving forward. I'm sorry you've been struggling, hon - I hope today is a good one for you and that you too have a lovely week! :o)
“Treat your body like there’s never going to be another vessel for your soul.” That’s so beautifully put, Nadia. I’m always in awe of how intimate and vulnerable your pieces feel.
My condolences on your grandmother’s passing. My own grandmother died shortly before I started my newsletter, and though we weren’t very close, I still missed her a lot.
In any case, I’m glad to see you publishing consistently again. Looking forward to your next letters!
Thank you so much dear Andrei for such a lovely comment. I'm sorry for your loss as well. Haha, I'm not sure how consistent I'll be for a while, but I'm trying to be. I appreciate your candid essays too. You're so honest and open and inspiring.
Alot of sage wisdom from your grandmother and you Nadia; those walks into whatever season with 'that' coat or 'this' shoe. Someone beside you a walkin.
Am a bit(?) older and still learning this 'accept this' or 'be grateful for that'. Being comfortable, comforted seems a clue. Someone alongside of us with an extra hat or glove they pull out. It's covering us.
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment! I feel you. It's hard to accept and be grateful sometimes. It helps to find one thing in a day to be grateful about. And when you find one thing, you tend to find more.
Good to see you’re back and with a wonderful personal piece brimming with wisdom. As to the bad weather, I can only agree, unless we are talking extreme weather, best stay in then . We do well to remember the ones we lost, celebrate the time we were given together and keep them alive in our memory. And when we are faced with our imperfections we best “forgive easily and forget even faster” because life is too short.
You're so on point, Alexander. Thank you so much! Yes, extreme weather is quite unpleasant. I tend to be a house cat in the summer. I mean 30C+ and humidity is very unsexy lol.
Thank you so much for your support, dear Troy! I absolutely agree. They're our cleaners and we must venerate them frankly (as 'pretty' as they are lol).
Dear Nadia, it really seems as though the fierce wisdom that ran through your grandmothers veins runs through yours, too. I love that you spoke to the fact that not all wisdom fits every body, and that blessings are available almost everywhere - even in our inacceptance of things.
How wonderful that you’ve been able to marvel at praying mantis and vultures! I find your gentle resilience most inspiring, and I so appreciate you sharing the wisdom from your lineage. 💗
Thank you so much dear Chloe for such a lovely comment. I hope someday to be as wise and at peace and brave as she was. But for now she continues to guide me, wherever she may be. I'm not a fan of living in NJ. But I got to say, it has some magical sightings. Every year there's something new I haven't seen. And it makes me appreciate it more.
I was born in September and historically have felt a deep melancholy as I walk outside and can feel a darkened hush in early evening, a crisper breeze, like an oncoming curtain. But I also appreciate it so much. A family of crickets tends to become symphonic in my apartment each September. It's when I most get out in the woods. I appreciate the reflection, and that blending where one season mingles with the next.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Jonathan. Happy birthday month, fellow September-born human! Your feelings resonate mine. I also hear the crickets more now. Their symphony is rather soothing. I also get a little sad by the end of August, because I no longer hear the frogs croaking. Whereas before they would be creating a bazaar of fun and funny noises at night. Haha.
Thank you, Nadia! It's tomorrow, actually. I wish I was close enough to nature to hear more frogs - it's a tangible goal to hear those peepers at night. The crickets, I recall last year placing a leaf of salad on the floor one night, unknowing if crickets ate vegetation, and in the morning the crickets were still there, chirping at me like, "We don't care about salad, dummy - give us filet mignon." I'll have to work on my communications skills with these subletters - "Hey family, what do you wanna eat?"
Well happy almost birthday to you, Jonathan! May this year be a wonderful one for you. And may you someday be closer to frogs. They're fun to listen to and to observe. At night they chill out of their ponds. That is so cute of you to give them vegetation. And how lovely they stayed for so long!
Thank you, Nadia! The other night I found a salamander in the doorstep after the hard rain, so maybe it will tell the frogs that this is a fine place to hang out for a night.
Thank you so much, Weston. She was a sunshine to me and to many people who knew her. So many people still mourn her., especially at church And in a way it gives me comfort that she was so loved.
Your grandmother sounds like she was a wonderful person, imparting such wisdom.
"there is no bad weather, just bad clothing." This is perfectly astute. I must try and remember this when I am annoyed at the cold or sudden change of the weather from sunshine to rain.
A beautiful post, Nadia. It's so great to have you back and posting and writing and reading. Sounds like it's been a bit of rough time, but I hope the transition into fall brings with it something positive. The shifting of the seasons is often on my mind lately, even more so when I read about the change in the northern hemisphere as we transition to spring down here.
Thank you so much, dear Nathan. She truly was. I miss her every day. And yes, we must remember, the changes in weather are necessary. Without rain, there wouldn't be greenery. Without snow, we wouldn't appreciate the blossoming flowers that come after. I appreciate you so much. This post actually took me three weeks to write lol. I may write something less intensive next time. I just wanted to properly honor my granny. Hopefully as I get used to the shift I will also feel better. I hope your heart and mind and soul feel better and transition better to spring and then summer!
Thank you so much, dear Garrett. And I'm sorry for your loss. Grandparents' love is so special. It makes the grandchild feel like a child still, so their passing makes us grow up and lose that childlike attitude a little bit. You said it right: "I think if you boil it all down, it's just love driving it all, driving all of us." Keep talking to them when you miss them. Somewhere out there they must hear our prayers and thoughts to them.
So nice to see you writing again my lovely. We’ve all missed your amazing and wonderful work, always so wise and inspiring, beautiful and thoughtful. I adore you 💕💕💕
I appreciate you so much, dear friend! <3
The feeling is very mutual x
D'aww. <3
You know you’re my favourite ❤️
You're mine! lol <3
Gosh really?!? 🥰
Heck yeah!
I’m having all of the feelings right now! 🥰
<3 <3 <3
Thanks for sharing the song you and your dear grandmother used to sing together. It evoked a feeling of nostalgia in me for the past summer--and for all past summers, really, when I've felt warm and happy. It's an emotion I have trouble feeling for the rapid change of fall into winter, but I've been trying my best recently to accept change. It's inevitable, and your grandmother was wise to know this so well.
Thank you Wendy for sharing your experience. I know what you mean. I also have a hard time accepting the change, but it's inevitable and necessary, and there's still so much beauty and value in that.
Yes. Thanks for encouraging me to see it!
<3
Nadia, your writing is exactly what I need at this juncture in my life, after a long dark season when I feel like my patience and resolve has reached its limit and I'm running on fumes hoping that there's a gas station around the next turn. Your relationship with your grandmother (love the song(s), life philosophy, expression about 'hands') reminds me alot of my step dad who passed away in 2010. He was a contractor, built my childhood home, and was overall a very humble and hard working person. I try to live up to the example he set, even though I know I won't even come close.
Joaquin, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Time heals, but not fully. We always feel the loss and longing. I'm also sad to know you're going through a physically and mentally taxing time. That's never easy. Bright days are ahead, have patience and be gentle with yourself.
The inner seasons, so beautifully articulated and felt here. Thank you for sharing yours. ❤️
Thank you so much, Kimberly! <3
Happy to see you back it. What a wonderful return. As the thoughts of weather change up here, I will think of you and your grandmother when I'm layering on the warmth. Thank you for sharing.
Aww, thank you Kate. I wish you have many lovely, bright days. <3
This reminds me of a passage in The Hagakure, which is a book of samurai philosophy. The writer, a samurai himself, mentions something called The Spirit of The Age. Basically, you make the best of each stage of your life - trying to recapture the essence of former times is as doomed an unsatisfying as trying to second guess the future. Its not exactly the same as what you've written here, but it reminded me of it. :o) I hope all is well, my friend.
That is so nice of you to say. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Peter! I've been okay. I hope you're doing as well as can be!
Always a pleasure to talk to you, hon. Yeah, things have gotten a little worse but I'm still getting around. Hope today is a good one for you. :o)
I'm sorry it's been so tough for you. What's been new? I hope you feel better soon. Same for me. I've been struggling. But I'm doing everything to get back up. Have a lovely new week ahead!
Not a whole heap of new stuff, really. Got an appointment in November to discuss the condition itself, how its progressing and the possibility of surgery - all of which is pretty positive I think, at least its information. Hopefully some decisions will come out of it moving forward. I'm sorry you've been struggling, hon - I hope today is a good one for you and that you too have a lovely week! :o)
I wish you a successful appointment and may you have some clarity and a positive outcome out of that. Thank you so much. All the best to you. :)
Bless you, hon. Thankyou so much. :)
“Treat your body like there’s never going to be another vessel for your soul.” That’s so beautifully put, Nadia. I’m always in awe of how intimate and vulnerable your pieces feel.
My condolences on your grandmother’s passing. My own grandmother died shortly before I started my newsletter, and though we weren’t very close, I still missed her a lot.
In any case, I’m glad to see you publishing consistently again. Looking forward to your next letters!
Thank you so much dear Andrei for such a lovely comment. I'm sorry for your loss as well. Haha, I'm not sure how consistent I'll be for a while, but I'm trying to be. I appreciate your candid essays too. You're so honest and open and inspiring.
Alot of sage wisdom from your grandmother and you Nadia; those walks into whatever season with 'that' coat or 'this' shoe. Someone beside you a walkin.
Am a bit(?) older and still learning this 'accept this' or 'be grateful for that'. Being comfortable, comforted seems a clue. Someone alongside of us with an extra hat or glove they pull out. It's covering us.
ps: liking the Russian quotes.
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment! I feel you. It's hard to accept and be grateful sometimes. It helps to find one thing in a day to be grateful about. And when you find one thing, you tend to find more.
Good to see you’re back and with a wonderful personal piece brimming with wisdom. As to the bad weather, I can only agree, unless we are talking extreme weather, best stay in then . We do well to remember the ones we lost, celebrate the time we were given together and keep them alive in our memory. And when we are faced with our imperfections we best “forgive easily and forget even faster” because life is too short.
You're so on point, Alexander. Thank you so much! Yes, extreme weather is quite unpleasant. I tend to be a house cat in the summer. I mean 30C+ and humidity is very unsexy lol.
What a return, my dear... Delighted to have our hope back. Unspeakably beautiful post (even the vultures - birds' gotta eat, right?) 🤣⭐💛
Thank you so much for your support, dear Troy! I absolutely agree. They're our cleaners and we must venerate them frankly (as 'pretty' as they are lol).
Dear Nadia, it really seems as though the fierce wisdom that ran through your grandmothers veins runs through yours, too. I love that you spoke to the fact that not all wisdom fits every body, and that blessings are available almost everywhere - even in our inacceptance of things.
How wonderful that you’ve been able to marvel at praying mantis and vultures! I find your gentle resilience most inspiring, and I so appreciate you sharing the wisdom from your lineage. 💗
Thank you so much dear Chloe for such a lovely comment. I hope someday to be as wise and at peace and brave as she was. But for now she continues to guide me, wherever she may be. I'm not a fan of living in NJ. But I got to say, it has some magical sightings. Every year there's something new I haven't seen. And it makes me appreciate it more.
Love your words and soul Nadia
I appreciate you, David! :)
I was born in September and historically have felt a deep melancholy as I walk outside and can feel a darkened hush in early evening, a crisper breeze, like an oncoming curtain. But I also appreciate it so much. A family of crickets tends to become symphonic in my apartment each September. It's when I most get out in the woods. I appreciate the reflection, and that blending where one season mingles with the next.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Jonathan. Happy birthday month, fellow September-born human! Your feelings resonate mine. I also hear the crickets more now. Their symphony is rather soothing. I also get a little sad by the end of August, because I no longer hear the frogs croaking. Whereas before they would be creating a bazaar of fun and funny noises at night. Haha.
Thank you, Nadia! It's tomorrow, actually. I wish I was close enough to nature to hear more frogs - it's a tangible goal to hear those peepers at night. The crickets, I recall last year placing a leaf of salad on the floor one night, unknowing if crickets ate vegetation, and in the morning the crickets were still there, chirping at me like, "We don't care about salad, dummy - give us filet mignon." I'll have to work on my communications skills with these subletters - "Hey family, what do you wanna eat?"
Well happy almost birthday to you, Jonathan! May this year be a wonderful one for you. And may you someday be closer to frogs. They're fun to listen to and to observe. At night they chill out of their ponds. That is so cute of you to give them vegetation. And how lovely they stayed for so long!
Thank you, Nadia! The other night I found a salamander in the doorstep after the hard rain, so maybe it will tell the frogs that this is a fine place to hang out for a night.
I hope you had a lovely birthday, Jonathan! Wow...a salamander...those are fun creatures. May you keep seeing more wildlife around your home!
Your grandmother was a wonderful creature. Thanks you so much for sharing all that and the song was haunting. Nice to feel the energy in your writing.
Thank you so much, Weston. She was a sunshine to me and to many people who knew her. So many people still mourn her., especially at church And in a way it gives me comfort that she was so loved.
It is always real comfort that she was loved by other people and remembered.
Thank you, Weston!
Your grandmother sounds like she was a wonderful person, imparting such wisdom.
"there is no bad weather, just bad clothing." This is perfectly astute. I must try and remember this when I am annoyed at the cold or sudden change of the weather from sunshine to rain.
A beautiful post, Nadia. It's so great to have you back and posting and writing and reading. Sounds like it's been a bit of rough time, but I hope the transition into fall brings with it something positive. The shifting of the seasons is often on my mind lately, even more so when I read about the change in the northern hemisphere as we transition to spring down here.
Thank you so much, dear Nathan. She truly was. I miss her every day. And yes, we must remember, the changes in weather are necessary. Without rain, there wouldn't be greenery. Without snow, we wouldn't appreciate the blossoming flowers that come after. I appreciate you so much. This post actually took me three weeks to write lol. I may write something less intensive next time. I just wanted to properly honor my granny. Hopefully as I get used to the shift I will also feel better. I hope your heart and mind and soul feel better and transition better to spring and then summer!
Spring always feels like such a lovely time for me. I think it's my favourite of seasons. Renewal, hope, plans etc all feel more vigorous in spring.
Take as long as you need for each post. Some things come quickly, others need to be nurtured 😊
You're so on point, thank you Nathan! Yes, I'm in accord. I love how it brings with it renewed and hopeful energies.
Thank you so much, dear Garrett. And I'm sorry for your loss. Grandparents' love is so special. It makes the grandchild feel like a child still, so their passing makes us grow up and lose that childlike attitude a little bit. You said it right: "I think if you boil it all down, it's just love driving it all, driving all of us." Keep talking to them when you miss them. Somewhere out there they must hear our prayers and thoughts to them.
That's how I felt when I lost all my grandparents. And I don't have children to keep me feeling a little child-like lol.