I remember attending that Teams call. COVID had hit the world.
Our manager had just given us the quarterly business update, instructed us to work from home as the lockdown commenced, and to lift the vibe, said: ‘This too will pass.’
That triggered my memory from many years ago, as I’ve heard these words from a story.
There was a farmer who had several sons. When he passed, the older sons were fighting over his vast estate and inheritance. The youngest son was happily taking just one of his father’s ring, with these words scripted on it: ‘this too will pass.’
As he weathered the ups and downs, he kept remembering the words: this too will pass. He realized he’d inherited a true gift from his father.
As I signed out of that Teams call, I imagined the day when the lockdown would end, and people would walk down the streets and cafes again, on a sunny day. Eventually COVID lockdown days, too, had passed.
Bad times don’t last forever. Keep up the hope and pull through.
Good times don’t last forever. Do not enjoy carelessly and take things for granted.
As promised in yesterday’s Ask a Cottage Witch post, here’s a clip from my Return to Reverence column in qathet Living magazine on how to use a pendulum (originally published March 2022)
I hope it supports not only yesterday’s querent, Bordering on Burnout, but anyone else whose been keen or curious about using a pendulum for divination.
It’s a tricky thing to share a rich practice in only 400 words, but it’s just enough to get someone started!
Ever wonder what happened to Ellis “Red” Redding and Andy Dufresne after the events of The Shawshank Redemption? Tarot might be able to give us a window into this very possibility.
When do I start getting used to the reality that we’re headed toward some sort of formal name split in Christianity similar to the way we’ve learned to use MAGA to mean something different than Republicans? Because I need some sort of easy way to let people know I’m a Bishop Mariann Budde Christian, not a Mike Johnson kind.
The thing that no physician will tell you before starting IVF is that it’s another full time job. The appointments, the phone calls with insurance and medication refills, the energy, the blood draws, the sonograms - it is an enormous amount of time and energy spent.
All that to say: if you’re on the IVF road, I see you, sister. I feel you. I’m right there with you - and you are a warrior.
Dear Sarah, You wrote that, "Two of many success stories: 1) This weekend, one of our amazing Substack Writers at Work went from 600 subscribers to 5200 in one day off one Note! 2) Another, who’d just launched her Substack, got 400 subscribers off one Note." PLEASE share the notes that got these tremendous results. That would be extremely helpful.
• The 5-Star System to build a meditation practice that actually sticks.
• How most people quit when they can’t get their Monkey Mind to stop chattering, and what you can do to avoid that.
• A 10-minute guided Mindset & Meditation (“M&M”) Practice, to give you a taste of what’s to come.
STAY TUNED — This February, I’ll be launching an M&M Challenge! For 5 days, I’ll be posting 5 Videos with guided M&Ms, so that we can meditate together & entrain our brains to adopt empowering beliefs. All it takes is 10 minutes a day! Subscribe to join!
TRAVEL || LIFE
IT’S LIVE!!
My recent post is a tribute for all the beautiful strangers that’ve shaped my life!! 🧞♂️happy reads y’all!
https://substack.com/@sankalpbyanjali/note/c-89988659?r=3547im&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
LIFE LESSON | THIS TOO WILL PASS
I remember attending that Teams call. COVID had hit the world.
Our manager had just given us the quarterly business update, instructed us to work from home as the lockdown commenced, and to lift the vibe, said: ‘This too will pass.’
That triggered my memory from many years ago, as I’ve heard these words from a story.
There was a farmer who had several sons. When he passed, the older sons were fighting over his vast estate and inheritance. The youngest son was happily taking just one of his father’s ring, with these words scripted on it: ‘this too will pass.’
As he weathered the ups and downs, he kept remembering the words: this too will pass. He realized he’d inherited a true gift from his father.
As I signed out of that Teams call, I imagined the day when the lockdown would end, and people would walk down the streets and cafes again, on a sunny day. Eventually COVID lockdown days, too, had passed.
Bad times don’t last forever. Keep up the hope and pull through.
Good times don’t last forever. Do not enjoy carelessly and take things for granted.
This too will pass.
(These words have no expiry date).
https://substack.com/@oliviaso/note/c-90253632
SPIRITUALITY | DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Naming your dark night of the soul can be transformative.
💔 Was it a breakup?
👩🏻💻 A career shift?
😩 A massive loss?
When you name it, you can start to see how it shaped you and what it taught you.
What’s one ‘dark night’ that changed you forever?
📔 I created a workbook to help you work through it! My hope is that it can support you through your dark night of the soul.
https://substack.com/@melanieraphael/note/c-89762901?r=265jkm&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
A LIFE WELL LIVED!
Some people are here to taste life. Others just read the menu. Which one are you?
https://substack.com/@sacredbusinessflow/note/c-90229353?r=2zw5hc&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Success isn’t about talent or resources—it’s about training your brain to see opportunities instead of obstacles.
https://substack.com/@ghginvest/note/c-90186099
Hooking Readers with the Power of Metaphor
“In the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon.”
from “The Haunted Mind” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne wasn’t just writing ghost stories—he was showing us how memory haunts us.
Metaphors like this one in “The Haunted Mind” aren’t just ornaments for prose to hang on—they make emotions tangible.
Try this:
Take an abstract emotion (grief, regret, nostalgia).
Compare it to something physical (a locked door, an abandoned house, a fading photograph).
Let the metaphor do the emotional heavy lifting.
What’s a metaphor from a story (or one of your own) that stuck with you?
https://open.substack.com/pub/franktarczynski/p/what-makes-the-haunted-mind-by-nathaniel?r=7c4e6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
CREATIVE LIFE/DIGITAL ART
https://substack.com/@katriinaratilainen/note/c-90187256
WITCHY ADVICE COLUMN / PENDULUM DIVINATION HOW TO
As promised in yesterday’s Ask a Cottage Witch post, here’s a clip from my Return to Reverence column in qathet Living magazine on how to use a pendulum (originally published March 2022)
I hope it supports not only yesterday’s querent, Bordering on Burnout, but anyone else whose been keen or curious about using a pendulum for divination.
It’s a tricky thing to share a rich practice in only 400 words, but it’s just enough to get someone started!
(Image "Finding Wisdom With Divination")
https://substack.com/@juliettejarvis/note/c-89168404
METAPHYSICAL/SPIRITUALISM & MOVIES/TV
Tarot Reading on the Shawshank Redemption Ending
Ever wonder what happened to Ellis “Red” Redding and Andy Dufresne after the events of The Shawshank Redemption? Tarot might be able to give us a window into this very possibility.
https://substack.com/profile/30213909-elena/note/c-90178689
BUSINESS & SOLOPRENEURSHIP
Building a sustainable solopreneur business has never been easier.
ChatGPT/Perplexity is FREE (Research)
Canva is FREE (Design)
Notion is FREE (Project Management)
Threads is FREE (Marketing)
Substack is FREE (Newsletter)
Gumroad is FREE (Selling)
So what's stopping you from starting now?
https://substack.com/@anferneeck/note/c-80550038
STORY WORK/ FAITH SHIFTS
When do I start getting used to the reality that we’re headed toward some sort of formal name split in Christianity similar to the way we’ve learned to use MAGA to mean something different than Republicans? Because I need some sort of easy way to let people know I’m a Bishop Mariann Budde Christian, not a Mike Johnson kind.
https://substack.com/@erinnolen/note/c-88192573
IVF / COMMUNITY / MOTHERHOOD
The thing that no physician will tell you before starting IVF is that it’s another full time job. The appointments, the phone calls with insurance and medication refills, the energy, the blood draws, the sonograms - it is an enormous amount of time and energy spent.
All that to say: if you’re on the IVF road, I see you, sister. I feel you. I’m right there with you - and you are a warrior.
https://substack.com/@meganminutillo/note/c-86460431?r=104bam&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Dear Sarah, You wrote that, "Two of many success stories: 1) This weekend, one of our amazing Substack Writers at Work went from 600 subscribers to 5200 in one day off one Note! 2) Another, who’d just launched her Substack, got 400 subscribers off one Note." PLEASE share the notes that got these tremendous results. That would be extremely helpful.
MINDSET & MEDITATION
💥▶️ New VIDEO’s out!💥
In this video, we explore:
• The 5-Star System to build a meditation practice that actually sticks.
• How most people quit when they can’t get their Monkey Mind to stop chattering, and what you can do to avoid that.
• A 10-minute guided Mindset & Meditation (“M&M”) Practice, to give you a taste of what’s to come.
STAY TUNED — This February, I’ll be launching an M&M Challenge! For 5 days, I’ll be posting 5 Videos with guided M&Ms, so that we can meditate together & entrain our brains to adopt empowering beliefs. All it takes is 10 minutes a day! Subscribe to join!
https://substack.com/@marisavictus/note/c-90081969
ART & ILLUSTRATION
EG: Poetry Picture from the Azores🌳☀️
Far away for us to see,
be with me in a secret world,
we are free.
https://substack.com/@travelclub/note/c-90155206?r=3fotui&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
CONCERNED ABOUT THE WORLD (should be a new category)
I am thinking of all the people who have been asked this week to consider taking a buyout — in the federal government or in tech cos.
You will be ok, no matter what you decide to do.
Think of all you have to add and then move forward with intention.
https://substack.com/@flaviasekles/note/c-90146248