One of my favorites!! ❤️ wow, what a joy to read through this well thought out, fully formed piece. I love to hear more about your journey. I think we can all relate.
Beautiful piece, Malavika. I went through it one more time, as slowly as it deserves to be gone through, and I can so relate to many things you talk about. Thank you :)
Hahah Silvio, how lucky I am to have friends like you and Sandra, who will read essays twice over, and then also leave kind words in comments. Thank you. I am amazed to hear that people relate, even from so many other contexts far removed from mine!
"But the secret sauce it turned out was something else. I was connecting better with others, because I was connecting better with myself." I in turn connected so much with this thought, very well put Malavika!
Enjoyed so much reading the whole evolution of your year :)
Thank you dear Oscar, what a treat it is to have a friend like you come back and share thoughts on pieces that they know ripped you wide open to write. :)
Ahhh this was so good! Thank you for opening up and taking the time to write this essay. I resonated with so much of it.
"Through all the sad and bad feelings of being stuck, I did not “find” the peace I was looking for. But I did learn to create the conditions for the peace I needed."
^ this summed it up so well. I have also felt like I was searching for peace, and the reality is we need time and tools to be able to create peace. Bravo. Malavika!
Thank you Michelle, feels easier to open up knowing there's a handful of you who will show up with love even when it feels so raw to write some of these things out. <3 <3 I am completely awe struck by how it resonates across contexts. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate you!
It's so true that connecting with ourselves is a necessary ingredient for connecting meaningfully with others. Your current trajectory seems full of a quality of self-connection that bodes really well for your relationships in the new year. Your honest sharing is nourishing.
Rick, you were one of the earliest people here who started reading my essays. Your gentle affirmations and generous energy in comments right from my 2nd Substack essay are a big reason I feel comfortable and courageous to write vulnerably. Thank you for all that you've done for my writing, knowingly and unknowingly. :)
Aaaah this made me feel invigorated, proud, motivated, seen, all at the same time. Your writing and your mind is a gift. Thank you for sharing it with us <3
VM, my ultimate hypegirl, thank you for reading, for commenting, for letting me know how it made you feel, and for catching on to all the unsaid things here. <3 I'm lucky to be able to share my writing/mind with someone like you.
Loved this piece, Malavika. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading David, I appreciate you stopping by to let me know :)
"I still have low expectations of 2023, if only because I know the ways of life: we can only guarantee effort; we are not guaranteed its fruits.
But I have higher standards for how I will carry myself. For, I am worthy."
Yessss, I love how you circled back and then ended on your worthiness. So powerful!! :)
Thank you Sandra! And thank you for reminding me to circle back, like touching base with myself again almost. :)
One of my favorites!! ❤️ wow, what a joy to read through this well thought out, fully formed piece. I love to hear more about your journey. I think we can all relate.
Thank you for the kind words, Alicyn! <3 So nice to see you back here.
Beautiful piece, Malavika. I went through it one more time, as slowly as it deserves to be gone through, and I can so relate to many things you talk about. Thank you :)
Hahah Silvio, how lucky I am to have friends like you and Sandra, who will read essays twice over, and then also leave kind words in comments. Thank you. I am amazed to hear that people relate, even from so many other contexts far removed from mine!
"But the secret sauce it turned out was something else. I was connecting better with others, because I was connecting better with myself." I in turn connected so much with this thought, very well put Malavika!
Enjoyed so much reading the whole evolution of your year :)
Thank you dear Oscar, what a treat it is to have a friend like you come back and share thoughts on pieces that they know ripped you wide open to write. :)
Ahhh this was so good! Thank you for opening up and taking the time to write this essay. I resonated with so much of it.
"Through all the sad and bad feelings of being stuck, I did not “find” the peace I was looking for. But I did learn to create the conditions for the peace I needed."
^ this summed it up so well. I have also felt like I was searching for peace, and the reality is we need time and tools to be able to create peace. Bravo. Malavika!
Thank you Michelle, feels easier to open up knowing there's a handful of you who will show up with love even when it feels so raw to write some of these things out. <3 <3 I am completely awe struck by how it resonates across contexts. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate you!
It's so true that connecting with ourselves is a necessary ingredient for connecting meaningfully with others. Your current trajectory seems full of a quality of self-connection that bodes really well for your relationships in the new year. Your honest sharing is nourishing.
Rick, you were one of the earliest people here who started reading my essays. Your gentle affirmations and generous energy in comments right from my 2nd Substack essay are a big reason I feel comfortable and courageous to write vulnerably. Thank you for all that you've done for my writing, knowingly and unknowingly. :)
Aaaah this made me feel invigorated, proud, motivated, seen, all at the same time. Your writing and your mind is a gift. Thank you for sharing it with us <3
VM, my ultimate hypegirl, thank you for reading, for commenting, for letting me know how it made you feel, and for catching on to all the unsaid things here. <3 I'm lucky to be able to share my writing/mind with someone like you.
Awesome Malavika! 🙌
Wow hey Leo, thanks for reading, and for stopping by to leave me a comment!! I appreciate you!