48 Comments

Gosh, yes, so much resonance. I remember doing the same when I moved from the UK to New Zealand. I shipped just 5 boxes and gave everything else away. It felt like a deep cleansing, very freeing, and what I remember most clearly from that time is how many new things flooded into my life in the year that followed to fill the space - new jobs, relationships, furniture, connections. It's said that nature abhors a vacuum and it can be interesting to create a space and then see what shows up. I see this in my garden too - nature doesn't leave things empty for very long 💚

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Vicki, your comment is worthy of being its own essay -- please know how moved I am by your beautiful words. I love that you said that moving to NZ felt like a deep cleansing, as that is exactly how I felt as well! There was something almost purifying about the process, even on a spiritual level. I'm really going to be thinking about and reflecting on what you wrote here, especially this thought: "Nature doesn't leave things empty for very long."

Thank you so much for reading and being here, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! 🤍✨

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Thank you Candace 😊 and to you too 💗

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This was a lovely post. A new way to look at major change. Lots to think about and mull over as the seasons, and the garden, of our lives evolves over time. Love the thoughts and pictures, a visual diary. I have started my own visual diary because of your inspiration, and already I find it interesting to see my thoughts and drawings as my life unfolds and I understand the importance of every day.

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Thank you so much for your beautiful comment, Linda -- I'm so happy to hear that this new essay resonated with you, and that it connected with your own creative journey.

I especially love what you shared about how keeping a visual diary helps you "understand the importance of every day" -- I don't know where I'd be without writing and art to help me understand not only each day, but the larger shape of how my life is unfolding.

I'm really honored that what I share here has helped inspire your creative practice, and I so look forward to sharing new stories and illustrations with you soon 🤍

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It made me think of something I remind myself of whenever I feel unsettled or when there’s change on the horizon: I’m my own home.

Thank you, Candace, for these moments of quiet beauty.

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"I’m my own home." Yes! Four words that have the power to ground us and comfort us, no matter where we are in the world or what season of life we're navigating. Thank you so much for always sharing such thoughtful wisdom here, Priya 🤍

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Reading each of your essays is like arriving and resting for a bit at a calming oasis. Thank you, Candace. ...and I'm so glad that you and Jose are feathering your new nest and making new friends as you settle into your life in Antwerp.

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Joan, I can't tell you how much your kind words here mean -- especially with everything that's been going on in the world, to know that I've been able to help you find a bit of calm amidst it all is really honoring and humbling to hear. Thank you so much for letting me know this new essay resonated with you, and I'm wishing you peace and joy in the holiday season 🤍

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Lovely essay; so simple and so profound. It reminds me of some of the "winters" in my marriage, the tough times we were truly tested. Jeff told me something, though, that really knocked my socks off. He said a co-worker asked him if he felt loyal to the company. Jeff told him how loyalty to a company has never gelled for him because corporations lay off workers for arbitrary reasons. They are rarely if ever loyal to their workers. He told this co-worker how, instead, he places his loyalty in his wife ... me ... because I've been there supporting him emotional during these layoffs and other trying moments. That's were our beautiful winter garden forms, in trusting and loyalty to each other against a capricious world. Thank you for this essay, Candace.

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"That's were our beautiful winter garden forms, in trusting and loyalty to each other against a capricious world." That is such a moving thought, Sue -- thank you so much for sharing that here, and for letting me know how this new essay resonated with you and your husband's own journey through life 🤍

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This is perfect! A few days ago I left a comment on a different newsletter about winter being about unfurling and this was brought to mind again reading your beautiful piece. In the time of our life that is the winter garden we gather our energy, or our loved ones, close to us to prepare for the next season of life which may involve unfurling to our fullest potential. But we cannot do this without the quiet winter garden phase.

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Donna, I love the connection you drew between winter and unfurling -- that resonates with me so much right now. As I worked on this essay, I spent a lot of time reading back through Katherine May's beautiful book, "Wintering," which I quoted from at the start of the piece. There's another quote from it that I'll be sharing in a future post soon, but it connects perfectly with what you wrote as well:

"Life goes on abundantly in winter. Changes made here will usher us into future glories."

Thank you so much for reading, and for always sharing such thoughtful insights here 🤍

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"There's beauty in being like a garden in the winter." So lovely. You might say there are no words - but all the words are here, too! And beautiful illustrations, as ever 💕

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Thank you so much, Sydney! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this new essay 🤍

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With tenderness, hope, and honesty, frailty is just another name for strength. This is a beautiful piece!

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"With tenderness, hope, and honesty, frailty is just another name for strength." That is such a powerful thought, Duane, and gives me so much to think about. Thanks so much for sharing it, and for your kind words! 🙏

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My pleasure! This is really a beautiful piece. And the way you compose your illustrated essays has inspired me with ideas for things I'd like to experiment within my own newsletter. I always include a collage with my essays, but you've got me thinking about what it might be like to make a collage essay. We'll see how it goes, thanks again!

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Collage essay! Now that is something that I would so enjoy reading and seeing 😊 I'm thrilled to hear that what I share here has helped inspire your own creative practice, Duane, and thanks so much for letting me know.

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This was beautiful, Candace, as always. I specially appreciate the way you've woven the seasons of nature and the seasons in your personal life, in a way we can relate to and feel all the changes you've been going through. I myself usually use the image of spirals, but somewhere in the back of my mind seasons are always there too, representing all cycles.

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Yes! Spirals are another favorite symbol of mine too, Pat, and perhaps something I need to explore in a future illustrated essay :) I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this new piece as well, thank you so much for letting me know it resonated with you 🤍

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This is so beautiful. Comforting to know you can each be home to each other regardless who’s around or where in the world. That’s the best! And I feel like Joan, it’s a little rejuvenating gift to read your words and see your paintings as I start my day. Peace!

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Gayle, as always, your kind words mean so much! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this new essay, and know I'm sending a big hug your way from Belgium 🤍

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I absolutely love this piece! It was a great, comforting read, thank you :) It reminded me of what Elif Shafak wrote about nurturing our inner garden in one of her initial pieces on Substack.

Speaking of gardens, a friend and I have created a digital gardening platform called 'Bloom'. The idea was to take a break from social media and create a delightful and calm corner of the internet to share one's thoughts by planting seeds and watering them! You might want to check it out: https://bloom.tendtoyourgarden.xyz/home

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Thank you so much for your lovely words! And especially for mentioning the post by Elif Shafak -- I just recently subscribed to her Substack, so I'll be sure to track down the piece where she talks about our inner garden. And thank you for sharing about Bloom as well, I love the idea behind it 💚

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So glad you like the idea! Here's the post I was referring to: https://elifshafak.substack.com/about

Looking forward to your next post :)

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Your comparison of shedding stuff to leaves falling from trees is so apt. It will help me to curate decades of household goods and family heirlooms in preparation for a move and a new chapter. I feel lighter already.

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Julie, I'm so glad that this new essay resonated with you, and it especially means so much to hear you feel lighter already. I'll be hoping that lightness stays with you as you undertake such a momentous move in life 🙏🤍

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Very beautiful drawings and the prose.

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Thank you, Udaya! 🙏

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You are so brave! When I moved in with my mother, I couldn’t let go of anything. It all went into storage, and there my household sits until the day I will need to leave and let go of her.

Lovely thoughts. Thanks for sharing, and now I have something to meditate upon in shaping myself.

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Thank you so much for your kind words, Sharon -- and please know I couldn't understand more the tension between letting go and holding on that we always have to navigate during a move 🤍

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This is so lovely, Candace. You capture perfectly the austere beauty of winter. And I completely relate to the sense of renewal that comes when we leave things behind and start afresh. Thank you for your inspiring and enriching work!

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Yes! I can only imagine how familiar you are with the feeling of a fresh start that comes with beginning life again in a new place. I'm so glad this new essay resonated with you, Jeffrey, and thank you so much for your kind words about it 🙏

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I love the way you use space to create rhythm!

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Thank you so much, Medha! Spacing is one of my favorite things to be thinking about as I put each new essay together 😊

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