That is music to my ears! I feel so lucky to have that in-person time- there's really nothing like it to get the flavour of someone's energy. I love that I got that full experience with you, Melinda, and I will need more! This is why I want you to teach at Omega!
I have the biggest smile on my face reading your full NY adventure - how wonderful, Heidi! I'm so happy to know that your time with each of us created a container big enough and beautiful enough to hold together the pieces of your heart that broke in your experience of loss and grief.
Thank you for your so-very-kind words about our NYC wanderings together. I loved every minute of it! Well, the rain was merely tolerated, but still...! 💕💖💕
Cathy, your words just made me tear up a little. That's exactly what it was — a container. You named it better than I did. In the interest of brevity, I only shared a small piece of what that time together meant — your generosity in being my guide through the city, the conversations, all of it. Your curiosity, care and seeing the good- you really do practice what you preach. And the rain — even that felt right somehow. There's something about wandering a city, in repeated cycles of getting drenched and seeking shelter/food/drink with good company that strips everything down to what matters. So grateful for you. I hope more wanderings to come!
And here I was thinking that it was you who was being so generous with me - sharing so much of your time during your short visit. 😍 I look forward to many new wanderings and explorations together, my friend!
Melinda sent me! Well not exactly, but her repost got me here. She’s the best (we met in Paris)
And I think you are correct in your assessment about older women not becoming invisible, they are just not showing up for that type of assessment any longer. We have better things to do with our time!
Yes Marie! Melinda fans are found far and wide — so happy to find you here! I appreciate what you say about having better things to do with your time. I'm actually writing a chapter on visibility right now, and I find it such a rich topic precisely because most conversations stay on the ornamental level — how we look, how we're perceived. What I keep wondering is how much energy goes into reverting to earlier versions of ourselves, and what's left over for the other kind of visibility. The kind that actually matters — the kind that's about living a full life.
Heidi, this was such a lovely read, not only because your words make the people and places pop but also because it reminds me so much of the reason why I started my Fascinated series. When life is busy, we lose track of all of the fascinating humans that walk the world around us. Those connections - the laugher, the shared reflection, the wisdom - are invaluable, and I if I go too long without submerging myself in them, I find myself incredibly thirsty, or, as you described it, depleted. I'm so glad you found what you were looking for and that your cup is overflowing at the moment. I hope it allows you to reenter clinical practice with a mind and heart for what you what and need it to be for you.
Thank you for this and for naming the Fascinated series in this context. I feel so lucky that my Pink Zones research asks me to seek out women who are living with real vitality and depth in their second and third chapters. It turns out the hunger I'm following is a common one — there is a genuine appetite for these stories, for proof that this season can be the most alive one yet. Your interview with Rhaine Della Bosca is such a beautiful example of exactly this. https://jessgwrites.substack.com/p/fascinated-with-rhaine-della-bosca
Thirsty and hungry are both right, I think. Different textures of the same need. That Shakespeare Cleopatra line keeps surprising me with how well it captures what real human connection does: it satisfies and ignites at the same time.
Dr. Heidi, sorry about the loss of your Uncle. So glad you found so many wonderful ways to refill your emotional cup to balance all that life was asking of you.
I'm reading more and more Substackers connecting IRL. It sounds like it was incredibly rewarding for you.
I am blown away! Thank you for such kind words—so beautifully crafted. Now you’re stuck with this old lady!
That is music to my ears! I feel so lucky to have that in-person time- there's really nothing like it to get the flavour of someone's energy. I love that I got that full experience with you, Melinda, and I will need more! This is why I want you to teach at Omega!
You’re hired!
I have the biggest smile on my face reading your full NY adventure - how wonderful, Heidi! I'm so happy to know that your time with each of us created a container big enough and beautiful enough to hold together the pieces of your heart that broke in your experience of loss and grief.
Thank you for your so-very-kind words about our NYC wanderings together. I loved every minute of it! Well, the rain was merely tolerated, but still...! 💕💖💕
Cathy, your words just made me tear up a little. That's exactly what it was — a container. You named it better than I did. In the interest of brevity, I only shared a small piece of what that time together meant — your generosity in being my guide through the city, the conversations, all of it. Your curiosity, care and seeing the good- you really do practice what you preach. And the rain — even that felt right somehow. There's something about wandering a city, in repeated cycles of getting drenched and seeking shelter/food/drink with good company that strips everything down to what matters. So grateful for you. I hope more wanderings to come!
And here I was thinking that it was you who was being so generous with me - sharing so much of your time during your short visit. 😍 I look forward to many new wanderings and explorations together, my friend!
Melinda sent me! Well not exactly, but her repost got me here. She’s the best (we met in Paris)
And I think you are correct in your assessment about older women not becoming invisible, they are just not showing up for that type of assessment any longer. We have better things to do with our time!
Yes Marie! Melinda fans are found far and wide — so happy to find you here! I appreciate what you say about having better things to do with your time. I'm actually writing a chapter on visibility right now, and I find it such a rich topic precisely because most conversations stay on the ornamental level — how we look, how we're perceived. What I keep wondering is how much energy goes into reverting to earlier versions of ourselves, and what's left over for the other kind of visibility. The kind that actually matters — the kind that's about living a full life.
It’s a process I think. Once the decision is made, it’s a path you travel - it takes a minute to loose the habits. 😏
Lovely, Dr. Heidi! Like a tall, cool glass of water on a hot day!
What an awesome compliment, Rhaine, thank you!
Heidi, this was such a lovely read, not only because your words make the people and places pop but also because it reminds me so much of the reason why I started my Fascinated series. When life is busy, we lose track of all of the fascinating humans that walk the world around us. Those connections - the laugher, the shared reflection, the wisdom - are invaluable, and I if I go too long without submerging myself in them, I find myself incredibly thirsty, or, as you described it, depleted. I'm so glad you found what you were looking for and that your cup is overflowing at the moment. I hope it allows you to reenter clinical practice with a mind and heart for what you what and need it to be for you.
Thank you for this and for naming the Fascinated series in this context. I feel so lucky that my Pink Zones research asks me to seek out women who are living with real vitality and depth in their second and third chapters. It turns out the hunger I'm following is a common one — there is a genuine appetite for these stories, for proof that this season can be the most alive one yet. Your interview with Rhaine Della Bosca is such a beautiful example of exactly this. https://jessgwrites.substack.com/p/fascinated-with-rhaine-della-bosca
Thirsty and hungry are both right, I think. Different textures of the same need. That Shakespeare Cleopatra line keeps surprising me with how well it captures what real human connection does: it satisfies and ignites at the same time.
Absolutely. A friend of mine is actually publishing a book of interviews about women who made these types of vitality-driven changes in their "third turn" of life. Allison Aubrey, "Your Turn". It comes out in September. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668207257/?bestFormat=true&k=your%20turn%20book%20allison%20aubrey&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k1_1_20_de&crid=ZB83RZ455EZX&sprefix=your%20turn%20allison%20au
Dr. Heidi, sorry about the loss of your Uncle. So glad you found so many wonderful ways to refill your emotional cup to balance all that life was asking of you.
I'm reading more and more Substackers connecting IRL. It sounds like it was incredibly rewarding for you.