Also - If anyone wants to talk about whether Ebenezer Scrooge’s first name had some significance, let me know what you think, because I will be pondering that for the rest of the day, as it just now occurred to me.
I confess that when I see your Field Notes, I am very often at work. And I confess that almost always just open them right away. They serve as a bit of an ebenezer in my day - my day where I am usually at work doing a job I think I’m good at but struggle with spiritually for various reasons - because they bring me into a story or some wisdom that help me take a deep breath and remember that God is working and that good and holy things are happening in the world. And because your Field Notes are to a ton of people, it reminds me that there are people out there who are looking for the Divine in stones, in relationships, in their creations, and in their lives.
Thank you for this Field Note, another ebenezer of its own.
What a great reminder!!!! Thanks for sharing, but also for having good boundaries. It's a great example that just because we are "internet friends/community" there are things that still need to be held closely. May you make space to process all the truths your heard from those who love you so!
I am deeply moved by this essay. It came directly from Gods mouth to your computer to my phone, I love it when that happens.
The deep, soul searching energy accompanying the friendships. The nurturing of the forest to hold you as you shifted all that you knew, to be able to walk off that trail a different version of yourself - one that you do not yet recognize.
Thank you for writing this. Remember Sarah that you have done many hard things and you can do this too💕
I like the idea of leaving a marker behind, even as we keep going. We aren't stuck back there, but we acknowledge what happened there. And then we move on to where God is taking us next.
You know those little shrines you see sometimes on the side of the road, where someone died and their loved ones have set up a memorial? They always made me sad, for obvious reasons but also whenever I see one that I see regularly on my commute and it's got new flowers etc. it makes me sad to think of someone trapped in their grief. That they come back to this place where it happened and leave their renewed offerings of love. But maybe I can see it as a remembrance of someone they loved dearly more than someone who can't move on without their loved one.
I feel this so deeply. The walking, the communing with nature, especially the trees. Talking to my husband, my number one confidante and friend. The things hidden that we wrestle with, that are only laid bare in our sacred circle. I too have a group of women who commune in this way. In it we are mirrored and held and found. And we laugh and snort a lot in the midst of laughing so deeply, only cackling and snorting feels appropriate. I love seeing pictures of you at home in the heart of your community of girlfriends. It warms my heart and turns me back toward my own group. Thank you for the pieces and glimpses you so willingly share with us. I often feel seen. And I think that’s what we long for most even when we can’t articulate it. Bless you, Sarah! And deep bow to the divine and to nature for such a beautiful shrine!
Beautiful! A reflective moment, slowing down, soaking it in, gratitude and beauty mixed and then continuing even if it’s just baby bay steps there IS movement. ❤️
I love this so much, and needed the reminder to slow down, pause, take a breath, and give thanks and remembrance for whatever is on my heart. Thank you, Sarah. God has used you. ♥️
How healing it is to be able to share deeply with people who are *for* us. I'm glad you had this time. (I live near there and the woods around Nevada City are beautiful!)
I love this so much. ❤️ Nature is so healing for me, too. I have seashells from a beach I had solitude and healing from, with only the roar of the ocean in my ears. I’d never thought of it as a shrine to testify to the fact that I survived and persisted. I love that. Thank you for so beautifully articulating things that my heart understands so well!!❤️
I walked a labyrinth one time, and at its center (it was huge, so I hadn't really eyeballed the center) there was a homemade shrine. People left stones, coins, at least one playing card, AA chips, notes on scraps of paper, etc. I felt the need to leave something, but I'd entered purposely unencumbered. (It was huge, but it wasn't so huge I might need a phone or a purse or a sack lunch.) It seemed to break the spirit of the adventure to racewalk back to where I'd left my stuff and racewalk back again (and I was NOT going to cross over the marked path). Anyway, I found a stick on the path and plucked some strands of hair from my head, and made a little flag. Just to be with the folks who had been there before me and would be there after me.
Also - If anyone wants to talk about whether Ebenezer Scrooge’s first name had some significance, let me know what you think, because I will be pondering that for the rest of the day, as it just now occurred to me.
I confess that when I see your Field Notes, I am very often at work. And I confess that almost always just open them right away. They serve as a bit of an ebenezer in my day - my day where I am usually at work doing a job I think I’m good at but struggle with spiritually for various reasons - because they bring me into a story or some wisdom that help me take a deep breath and remember that God is working and that good and holy things are happening in the world. And because your Field Notes are to a ton of people, it reminds me that there are people out there who are looking for the Divine in stones, in relationships, in their creations, and in their lives.
Thank you for this Field Note, another ebenezer of its own.
What a great reminder!!!! Thanks for sharing, but also for having good boundaries. It's a great example that just because we are "internet friends/community" there are things that still need to be held closely. May you make space to process all the truths your heard from those who love you so!
I am deeply moved by this essay. It came directly from Gods mouth to your computer to my phone, I love it when that happens.
The deep, soul searching energy accompanying the friendships. The nurturing of the forest to hold you as you shifted all that you knew, to be able to walk off that trail a different version of yourself - one that you do not yet recognize.
Thank you for writing this. Remember Sarah that you have done many hard things and you can do this too💕
Also, your influencer video was the best!!!
I like the idea of leaving a marker behind, even as we keep going. We aren't stuck back there, but we acknowledge what happened there. And then we move on to where God is taking us next.
You know those little shrines you see sometimes on the side of the road, where someone died and their loved ones have set up a memorial? They always made me sad, for obvious reasons but also whenever I see one that I see regularly on my commute and it's got new flowers etc. it makes me sad to think of someone trapped in their grief. That they come back to this place where it happened and leave their renewed offerings of love. But maybe I can see it as a remembrance of someone they loved dearly more than someone who can't move on without their loved one.
I feel this so deeply. The walking, the communing with nature, especially the trees. Talking to my husband, my number one confidante and friend. The things hidden that we wrestle with, that are only laid bare in our sacred circle. I too have a group of women who commune in this way. In it we are mirrored and held and found. And we laugh and snort a lot in the midst of laughing so deeply, only cackling and snorting feels appropriate. I love seeing pictures of you at home in the heart of your community of girlfriends. It warms my heart and turns me back toward my own group. Thank you for the pieces and glimpses you so willingly share with us. I often feel seen. And I think that’s what we long for most even when we can’t articulate it. Bless you, Sarah! And deep bow to the divine and to nature for such a beautiful shrine!
Beautiful! A reflective moment, slowing down, soaking it in, gratitude and beauty mixed and then continuing even if it’s just baby bay steps there IS movement. ❤️
I love this so much, and needed the reminder to slow down, pause, take a breath, and give thanks and remembrance for whatever is on my heart. Thank you, Sarah. God has used you. ♥️
This reminds me very much of Emily P. Freeman's Marking Moments and Milestones (https://emilypfreeman.substack.com/p/marking-moments-and-milestones). Two voices that speak directly to my soul with a similar message that must be worth paying attention to.
I love this so much...
I love this. It brings to mind my knitting stitch markers which attest to progress even when it doesn’t feel like it
How healing it is to be able to share deeply with people who are *for* us. I'm glad you had this time. (I live near there and the woods around Nevada City are beautiful!)
Love this! So true.
I love this so much. ❤️ Nature is so healing for me, too. I have seashells from a beach I had solitude and healing from, with only the roar of the ocean in my ears. I’d never thought of it as a shrine to testify to the fact that I survived and persisted. I love that. Thank you for so beautifully articulating things that my heart understands so well!!❤️
I walked a labyrinth one time, and at its center (it was huge, so I hadn't really eyeballed the center) there was a homemade shrine. People left stones, coins, at least one playing card, AA chips, notes on scraps of paper, etc. I felt the need to leave something, but I'd entered purposely unencumbered. (It was huge, but it wasn't so huge I might need a phone or a purse or a sack lunch.) It seemed to break the spirit of the adventure to racewalk back to where I'd left my stuff and racewalk back again (and I was NOT going to cross over the marked path). Anyway, I found a stick on the path and plucked some strands of hair from my head, and made a little flag. Just to be with the folks who had been there before me and would be there after me.