What a beautiful and extraordinary experience, Heidi! I do love my vicarious vacations and this one was a delicious delight - on so many levels. I keep going back to those sun-warmed berries you ate from their bushes. Sometimes it’s the most simple things that nourish us most. 💕
Thank you, Cathy! I’m brought back to that Tahini (amazingly dairy-free) ice cream you treated me to after our long walk in the rain in NYC. As someone who isn’t fond of regular ice cream at all, I was skeptical and it so won me over! It’s a super nourishing delight I associate you with now!
I probably would not have suggested it if I knew you were not a fan of ice cream. I love that you were willing to take a chance and experience it - and that it became something that has stayed with you!
It was exceptionally good. You know, Cathy, I am unusual in that I'm also not fond of chocolate! No one ever imagines that, especially in a woman; it seems not typical.
I so love hearing about all your adventures and all the beautiful community you bring into the world. I rarely think about food very deeply because I don't cook. I wish I did, but it's something I never really learned and I feel like I never have time. It's not that I don't appreciate the many-layered goodness of truly nourishing food (both in terms of nutrients and the experience of preparing, consuming, and sharing), but most of my eating is designed around convenience, ease, and speed. Reading this makes me feel like I should rethink it.
As for the other kinds of nourishment ... we all need MORE of those! Too many days pass with hardly any soul nourishment ... or only the barest morsel that we have snatched out of the hustle and bustle of the day. We deserve more.
You are so right on Jamie, about needing /deserving MORE. I've been much more aware of my need for soul nourishment, as you say. Years ago I read something John Robbins said (of the Baskin-Robbins family) specifically about food and how, when we eat in a hurried or rushed way, it's like receiving a love letter from the earth and never taking the time to read it. I feel like I can do that on my walks- sometimes I'm on a mission and don't take the time to notice the spectacular things- whereas you, my friend, from your writing, I know you totally pay deep attention- savour and expand on what you see, and I love reading the world you share.
I love that - about what it means to eat in a hurry. I feel like most of my life is rushed, and that's one of the main things I'm trying to change. We do need to savor more ... in all the ways. Thank you for saying that about my writing. There are moments when I sink into the physical world and feel like time slows down and my senses open up. Those are good moments. xo
That makes me happy to hear, Jessica and I miss you too- I was just writing about Cortes and planning a trip to Portland- our overlapping places I've also been missing!
You certainly sound like you belong in Gabriola as even your writing reflects how nourished it makes you feel. I think you made a great point overall that nourishment goes well beyond nutrition/food itself and we need to ay attention to all the ways in which we are (or are not) being nourished and act accordingly.
I know I've spent a lot of time nourishing myself through healthy food, exercise and feeding my mind. One thing where I felt undernourished was putting my creativity on the back burner for too long, but Substack took care of that, in addition to helping nourish connection with like-minded people when it comes to aging well like yourself :)
That's wonderful to hear, Melanie- that being in this space takes care of that craving for creativity or the expression and circulation of it. It's certainly been a rich place for connection for me, and I love that we can satisfy that need wherever we are situated, even if it isn't on an idyllic island :)!
Such wonderful adventure, Heidi! Bon Fires, off-grid living, clamping! I especially related to Rooted nourishment, and "expanding what we allow nourishment to mean". Beautiful!! xx
Thanks, Rhaine. You also help expand what nourishment means through your work, and I am grateful to have received your grounding and soul-enriching offerings!
Dr. Heidi, the essay’s deepest nourishment arrives when the circle continues after you step away. Krista’s presence turns shared leadership into something the body can feel: relief, trust, and freedom from carrying every need alone. That moment widens nutrition beyond what enters the body toward the relationships and structures that help a life remain held. Thank you for showing how nourishment can live in berries, salt air, meaningful work, and the discovery that another person can keep the circle intact.
"But a woman can be consuming all the right nutrients and still be deeply underfed." I know so very many of these women, Heidi. And I have felt this line to my center more than once. I've never made the connection between the intentional teaching of scarcity around food - eat less, take smaller bites, be tiny - with an inability to receive nourishment of the non-food kind. What a fascinating parallel. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. It's an invitation to an entire meal, not just a plate.
Yes, Jess, I'm with you. I am seeing this link everywhere right now. (I probably need to turn that dial down some. :)/:(. The popularity of GLP-1s has got me wondering about what other hungers /drives can get turned down alongside "food-noise". Yes, they can be tremendously helpful for insulin resistance and other physiological dysregulation. Something medically promising can be packaged as empowerment and easily be a Trojan horse. As you say, the imperative to be smaller and take up less space is long-held for women, but that also *isn't held* behind strict borders of bodies/ health -my concern is it can permeate into other realms of showing up as substantial. A good woman is... [fill in the blank]. Not big, not loud, not demanding.
What a beautiful and extraordinary experience, Heidi! I do love my vicarious vacations and this one was a delicious delight - on so many levels. I keep going back to those sun-warmed berries you ate from their bushes. Sometimes it’s the most simple things that nourish us most. 💕
Thank you, Cathy! I’m brought back to that Tahini (amazingly dairy-free) ice cream you treated me to after our long walk in the rain in NYC. As someone who isn’t fond of regular ice cream at all, I was skeptical and it so won me over! It’s a super nourishing delight I associate you with now!
I probably would not have suggested it if I knew you were not a fan of ice cream. I love that you were willing to take a chance and experience it - and that it became something that has stayed with you!
It was exceptionally good. You know, Cathy, I am unusual in that I'm also not fond of chocolate! No one ever imagines that, especially in a woman; it seems not typical.
I so love hearing about all your adventures and all the beautiful community you bring into the world. I rarely think about food very deeply because I don't cook. I wish I did, but it's something I never really learned and I feel like I never have time. It's not that I don't appreciate the many-layered goodness of truly nourishing food (both in terms of nutrients and the experience of preparing, consuming, and sharing), but most of my eating is designed around convenience, ease, and speed. Reading this makes me feel like I should rethink it.
As for the other kinds of nourishment ... we all need MORE of those! Too many days pass with hardly any soul nourishment ... or only the barest morsel that we have snatched out of the hustle and bustle of the day. We deserve more.
You are so right on Jamie, about needing /deserving MORE. I've been much more aware of my need for soul nourishment, as you say. Years ago I read something John Robbins said (of the Baskin-Robbins family) specifically about food and how, when we eat in a hurried or rushed way, it's like receiving a love letter from the earth and never taking the time to read it. I feel like I can do that on my walks- sometimes I'm on a mission and don't take the time to notice the spectacular things- whereas you, my friend, from your writing, I know you totally pay deep attention- savour and expand on what you see, and I love reading the world you share.
I love that - about what it means to eat in a hurry. I feel like most of my life is rushed, and that's one of the main things I'm trying to change. We do need to savor more ... in all the ways. Thank you for saying that about my writing. There are moments when I sink into the physical world and feel like time slows down and my senses open up. Those are good moments. xo
Love this Heidi! So resonates with me today. Miss you old friend
That makes me happy to hear, Jessica and I miss you too- I was just writing about Cortes and planning a trip to Portland- our overlapping places I've also been missing!
You certainly sound like you belong in Gabriola as even your writing reflects how nourished it makes you feel. I think you made a great point overall that nourishment goes well beyond nutrition/food itself and we need to ay attention to all the ways in which we are (or are not) being nourished and act accordingly.
I know I've spent a lot of time nourishing myself through healthy food, exercise and feeding my mind. One thing where I felt undernourished was putting my creativity on the back burner for too long, but Substack took care of that, in addition to helping nourish connection with like-minded people when it comes to aging well like yourself :)
That's wonderful to hear, Melanie- that being in this space takes care of that craving for creativity or the expression and circulation of it. It's certainly been a rich place for connection for me, and I love that we can satisfy that need wherever we are situated, even if it isn't on an idyllic island :)!
What a wonderful experience — and so compellingly written!
Thank you, Melinda!
Such wonderful adventure, Heidi! Bon Fires, off-grid living, clamping! I especially related to Rooted nourishment, and "expanding what we allow nourishment to mean". Beautiful!! xx
Thanks, Rhaine. You also help expand what nourishment means through your work, and I am grateful to have received your grounding and soul-enriching offerings!
Auto correct doest know what "glamping" is...😅
Dr. Heidi, the essay’s deepest nourishment arrives when the circle continues after you step away. Krista’s presence turns shared leadership into something the body can feel: relief, trust, and freedom from carrying every need alone. That moment widens nutrition beyond what enters the body toward the relationships and structures that help a life remain held. Thank you for showing how nourishment can live in berries, salt air, meaningful work, and the discovery that another person can keep the circle intact.
Thank you for a nourishing evening in every sense of the word! To many more!!!
"But a woman can be consuming all the right nutrients and still be deeply underfed." I know so very many of these women, Heidi. And I have felt this line to my center more than once. I've never made the connection between the intentional teaching of scarcity around food - eat less, take smaller bites, be tiny - with an inability to receive nourishment of the non-food kind. What a fascinating parallel. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. It's an invitation to an entire meal, not just a plate.
Yes, Jess, I'm with you. I am seeing this link everywhere right now. (I probably need to turn that dial down some. :)/:(. The popularity of GLP-1s has got me wondering about what other hungers /drives can get turned down alongside "food-noise". Yes, they can be tremendously helpful for insulin resistance and other physiological dysregulation. Something medically promising can be packaged as empowerment and easily be a Trojan horse. As you say, the imperative to be smaller and take up less space is long-held for women, but that also *isn't held* behind strict borders of bodies/ health -my concern is it can permeate into other realms of showing up as substantial. A good woman is... [fill in the blank]. Not big, not loud, not demanding.