Frozen Solid
Briefly: an apology and an invitation
“When a culture loses its relationship to rhythm, it begins to treat rest as weakness, grief as interruption, and dormancy as failure. The result is exhaustion—personal and planetary. Burnout is the psychological equivalent of ecological collapse: soil stripped of nutrients, bodies stripped of seasons, lives forced into perpetual summer.” - Camilla Sanderson1
The ground here is frozen solid. Single digit nights and below freezing daytime temperatures – sometimes accompanied by winds that drive the “feels like temperature” to well below zero – has locked our region into concrete snow. I feel like my mind and body are working at the pace of snow melt – tiny trickles that come to life if the sun burns brightly in late afternoon only to refreeze each night. So perhaps I am in Earth’s rhythm these days. moving at the pace of melting snow amid an Arctic blast.
The impact for you, dear readers, is that I have left my Substack unattended for a stretch. Not that I stopped thinking about you – or it. I have written and abandoned at least three posts. Somewhere between ICE raids and icicles, my mind has slowed to a trickle and any glimmer of wisdom I might have had is locked in the frozen soil. I am told that warmer weather – as in lows in the 20’s - is coming later this week – and I sense trust hope the scratches I am making in my journal may sprout into something worthy of sharing with you.
An Apology:
For paid subscribers, I have extended your subscription by two months so that you are not funding my hiatus. For all subscribers, I hope you will accept my apology.
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An Invitation:
I will be joining Julie Gabrielli and Camilla Sanderson this Thursday, February 12, 2:30pm EST, for a conversation on Listening to Earth.
How do we care for this beloved, beautiful, hurting Earth and reclaim our birthright of joy and kinship with all living beings?
We’re planning a joyful, creative exploration of listening—to Earth, to each other, and beyond our conditioned urge to fix or ‘do’—so a deeper way of being in relationship can emerge.
During our time together, we’ll explore some of the content of my book, Earth & Soul, and its message for how we might live fully alive and deeply connected amid the loss and challenge of difficult times.
Mark your calendar for this conversation: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/110444?utm_source=live-stream-scheduled-upsell
We’d love to have you join us! Bring tea, curiosity, and an open heart.
Leah, this feels so honest and true. The way you let the frozen ground name the inner season—without rushing it or spiritualizing it—is a gift. Yes to moving at the pace of snowmelt, to trusting that dormancy is not failure but fidelity to rhythm.
Thank you for modeling a way of being with exhaustion that doesn’t bypass it, and for extending such care to your readers in the process.
I’m also really looking forward to our Live Substack conversation and to sitting with your book, Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos—listening, rather than pushing, for what wants to emerge🔥🙏
Looking forward to being with you and Camilla today. It was nearly 50 here yesterday! A welcome change. Still, there was something special about the deep-cold pause and quiet. I love how snow and ice transform the ordinary world -- reminding us we aren't in charge after all.