7 Comments

Lauren, this post is so resonant now! I also felt the danger of appearing arrogant for decades (literally!) but I have recently come round to looking at this matter from a different angle: my actions may give the inspiration and the courage to someone else to venture out of their comfort zone - so thank you for doing exactly this: being an inspiration!

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Jan 21, 2021Liked by Lauren McMenemy

I feel your words resonating in a BIG way, Lauren. Even your picture with the tree. I've been running a community project - about connection, communication, common bonds - there's an arm knitted tree trunk in one of the fingerknitted installations I made. The tree, its roots, how they connect - I have been contemplating trees (Banstead Woods has great trees and is a glorious place to walk) - what they feel, how they communicate, their support networks - how they are connected - and how much we can learn from our dear Mother Nature.

Getting through my own wall - I started reading The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohleben, I started masticating 5 times a day - comes highly recommended 😁 (I'm juicing, haha) and being menopausal to boot, I have engaged a wonderful homeopath (for the second time in my life, the first was a resounding success) to support the immense changes the whole of me is going through. Suppressing this shizz with yet more chemicals is not the way forward, imho. I'm after balance, not a band aid.

If self doubt was an award, I think I'd be collecting a medal alongside your good self, and so many others who travel a similar path of transition in these times.

Much love and thank you for sharing your journey - it has given me strength - just knowing that I am not alone is magic 🙏💜🙏

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Jan 7, 2021Liked by Lauren McMenemy

Oh Lauren this hurts my heart, I could have written this myself a decade ago. It’s a hard but necessary journey we must go on. As you know I suffered spectacular burnout that saw me bedridden or hospitalised for the best part of a decade. I had to face some extremely painful truths about who I was to turn that situation around. I thought I was so switched on, mature, completely myself and had beaten my own path but I had to admit I was, who I was told I was . . . like ‘him’ and ‘he’ was a dyed in the wool workaholic (my him and yours) ‘he’ set a tone and pace for life that has seen me achieve great success and joy in life like ‘him’ but also pay a terrible price for it. I blindly tumbled down that other path. I have a 4 at the front of my number, it still scares me. Perhaps at some point on your journey you might be ready to dip your toe into a conversation about realisations I had about this, him, her and the rest of it. If you are brave enough I promise to share with you the things I had to finally admit to myself that I have never said aloud to another human. Things that quite probably only you will truly understand about being ungrateful... selfish.

I am selfish now. Me before you. I cannot help anyone from a box in a ground. I love by the flight attendant mantra now I

- Put on your own oxygen mask, before helping others. X X X

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Jan 7, 2021Liked by Lauren McMenemy

I wonder if writers in general are more prone to worry about coming across as arrogant. I do (worry).

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"While no one will do things quite like you do, the things will get done. Meanwhile, you can be spending that time and energy on things that help you, that focus on your own needs, that are designed to get you through these strange and weary times in which we find ourselves."

This resonated with me so much. Thank you for sharing your journey!

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