Dear Encouragers
We are not big on number-crunching. It’s way more likely you’ll find us celebrating a quirky milestone - take 333, a particular favourite - than other big round numbers. But this week, I peeked and it looks like 1500+ folk are checking out our community of encouragement - thank you so much for being there … hopefully, you are all rippling out the positive vibes too.
September feels more of a time of renewal than January.
It’s funny how we seem hard-wired into making all our ‘fresh starts’ and ‘life-changing resolutions’ in (for the northern hemisphere at least) the darkest, dreariest, least inspiring month. We prefer the Autumn so this feels like the perfect time to make a few modest changes. It feels like they might stick.
We’re not the only ones.
went for a full-on ‘creative fire’:
The decision to ignite yet another Substack fire this summer, deleting thousands of comments, likes, Notes, restacks, recommendations, posts and salvaging only a thimbleful of words from two years of work, came not from a fit of rage or despair but from a place of genuine neutrality. It was thought-out. Considered. There’s growth, my friend. There’s growth.
There’s something pretty amazing about taking your creative output and distilling it down into a handful of ‘essentials’ to springboard into a new phase.
For us, it feels a little different. When it comes to the Encouragement Manifesto, we seem to have honed it down to the essentials already.
We created the Manifesto in 2020.
Then we invited some folk to write about a particular value that struck a chord with them.
By way of paying back the generosity of the contributions, we created The Encouragement Sessions. We tell folk that they are like a ‘handful of tangfastics for the soul’. Folk tell us that they can feel exactly like that.
There were so many of them, that we felt it was a good time to see if more people would write about encouragement. This time, we asked the amazing writers and thinkers of the
community to gift us their words. Which they have … amazing words by fabulous, generous people *. The gift, their words.* We’d love you to read a few and share them. Even encouragers need encouragement.
Oh, yes, then we got asked to speak about encouragement at the Love Trails Festival … which partially blew our minds but also made our thing feel like a thing. We did in-person Encouragement Sessions at the festival and some people asked if they could ‘hold that thought’ until later in the year.
On the Trail of Encouragement
We were asked to speak about the Encouragement Manifesto at an amazing trail running and music festival called Love Trails. We were thrilled to say ‘yes’. Nervous, slightly scared, but thrilled. We’ve had some time to reflect on the opportunity and what we learned.
Which is roughly where we are up to.
Later in the year, that is, and our ‘change’ is more of the same as we embark on the latest set of encouragement sessions.
Curious? Get involved:
How do we book one?
Send an e-mail to feastsandfables@gmail.com
(or Direct Message us here on Substack)
What does it involve?
Jump on an hour-long Zoom call with Barrie (Mr Fables), an upbeat, enthusiastic soul with a whole bunch of life and ‘world of work’ experience. Expect to drink from the glass marked ‘half full’.
Can you tell me a little more?
Read this post - it is all in there … but ask any questions you like in your e-mail.
Encouraging Things
“Maybe the willingness to slow down, to be less effective not more, is one of the keys to enjoying life more.” (Mattias Olsson)
- is celebrating two years of Noted, her notes about people who keep notes. To mark the occasion, Jillian is encouraging folk to share pictures of their ‘commonplace books’, personalised notebooks brimful of quotes, references, and creativity. We’re joining in; will you?
It turns out Substack friends are friends in real life too. Generous words from about a creative retreat at Encouragement Farm.
Mèrak (noun) (Serbo-Croatian) Pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfilment.
The fabulous
is the model of consistency. There have been over 222 editions of the Newsletter for the Culturally Curious (okay, so there have been 227 but as we mentioned we like quirky).Talking of consistency,
is marking a ‘year of making things happen’ with her weekly posts. This is no small thing as Andrea wrestles with debilitating post-COVID effects. An encouragement to us all to ‘make things happen’.People can’t help you unless you ask. Thank you
for reminding me about the multiplying effect of asking someone to peer in on your stuff.It is okay to talk about your thing … especially if someone asks. Thank you so much for asking
‘Walking with Barrie Thomson’.Stay Curious.
Barrie, I am so grateful we connected here and I still relish the memory of our time together during my Encouragement session. I have a little note on my desk that simply says, "Be Kind." I think of you every time I look at it. What a difference it makes when we extend kindness, generosity, and a simple word of encouragement to others. It is truly a superpower and you are the real superhero. Thanks my friend.
Thank you for the mention, and for the endless encouragement you share directly, not to mention the little ripples that come often through all that you put out there and share of and for others. One of these days I shall break down to a quirky number a count of all who have arrived at my posts via yours -- that number is considerable, so I'm always very happy to be able to return any small kindness and encouragement your way.