Moving my content behind a paywall
What does it mean to truly be yourself while honouring others being themselves?
Dear Reader
As my second year on Substack kicks off, I yearn to dive deeper into what it means to live an authentic life in relation to yourself, others and the natural world. When we do this, it seems to me we tend to instinctively nourish ourselves, our community (of all beings) and our home place rather than cause harm.
Turning my life upside down a year ago to leave Wales in the UK and emigrate to live in Skagit County, Washington state in the US with my American husband, has given me a chance to reflect on many things as I integrate into my new life.
I love to explore and ask questions about the human experience, creativity, neurodiversity, relationships, community and nature. I love to capture and share the beauty I see. I’m interested in imagining a world that works for all beings and how that might translate into action in our everyday lives. And at the same time I experience overwhelm and often shrink in the face of the challenges of everyday life, let alone trying to create a better world. Do you feel the same?
I’d like to share more of the challenges and conundrums I come up against as well as more of my life and creative experiments. But I notice some reticence about having all of this freely available on the inter web.
As I shed more layers and ask more questions there will be more vulnerability. I’d love these posts to be accessible to those who want to explore these topics and who value the exploration enough to pay for the opportunity to read and comment. I’d love the inherent value of creative expression to be recognised with a financial commitment from readers.
I’d love the comment space to be safe for deeper explorations and discussions. For that reason I am going to use the paywall for a large part of my posts from now on. Though parts will still be free. I appreciate every one of you who has subscribed so far, free and paid. As a thank you I’m offering an annual paid subscription for just $15 per year, at a whopping 70% discount until the end of November..
For this next phase, if you want to continue to read and comment on all of my posts in their entirety you’ll need to take out a paid subscription. I am making an introductory offer of just $15 per year to make it accessible and as a thank you for your support so far. There are many reasons you might choose to become a paying subscriber:
You know me and want to encourage my writing even if you don’t always read it
You value what I offer and want to reward my time and skills with a financial payment even if you don’t read every post
You are deeply interested in what it means to live an authentic life in relation to self, others and the natural world and want to join the exploration and be able to comment
You want to meet other like minds and become part of a community interested in diving deeper into what’s below the surface
This offer runs until the end of November 2025 so if you want to join me on Year Two, grab your subscription now before the offer expires.
An English Woman with her camera in Skagit County, WA is a reader-supported publication. Special offer for existing free subscribers who want to upgrade to a paid subscription: until the end of November 2025, an annual subscription costs just $15 per year. That is $1.25 per month. Usually an annual subscription costs $50/year. That’s a 70% discount as a thank you for being a subscriber in the first year. Grab it quick! You will have access to the full archive too.
I love to experiment so watch this space.
Look forward to welcoming you to this community.
Juliet
Monday
The sky has layers of grey cloud moving slowly across a lighter back drop. I am glowing after a vigorous walk down to a nearby beach. The tide was out revealing mud flats right out to a small island. Back at my desk, I have so many questions already this week, and it is only Monday!
Questions like: how is it that certain words at certain times quicken my blood. Like ‘vigorous’, just the sound of that word feels like whipped cream. I want to say it over and and over and let the feel of it flow through my veins like glorious gold. Is it just me?
What does it mean to truly be yourself with no apology? When you cease trying to make other people comfortable around you, a kind of magic happens. And yet, sometimes, in some places, being yourself could put you in danger. How to reconcile this?