Why?
Why am I here in your inbox and why do I write these letters?
Hello Dear Friend,
Firstly I would like to welcome all the new readers of these Sunday Letters, I think most of you found your way here via Shuna’s Toolkit promotion last week. Hopefully, you found something of interest, I know I did.
Welcome to another Sunday. I really wasn’t sure what to write about this week, until my Weekend Writers session earlier today. A common thread in the checkout was the question of ‘why’, why we do what we do, why we as writers tell stories, whether fictional or autobiographical. But more than that, it seemed we wanted to know why we read the stories, the books, and the blog posts. what is it that draws us in, and keeps us reading?
So, this week I will try to explain a little of my ‘why’, I will warn you I have had a bad week with my fatigue so I may ramble, but hopefully not too much.
Why?
Why do I write these Sunday Letters every week? Why did I start? What keeps me going?
Some of you will know that for most of my life I have been an avid crafter, there are very few crafts that I have not tried, some have stuck and others, well, let’s just say life is too short for some things, and leave it at that. I have with my wife owned two yarn shops, designed my own knitting patterns, recreated a couple of Gansey jumpers from Victorian photographs, and still craft fun little gifts for a local arts center.
That was me, or so I thought. I would expand my knitting designs, write a book on the Gansey jumper from an Isle of Wight perspective, and continue to do craft shows and exhibitions with my friends.
The universe had other ideas for me, however.
In July 2020 I was blessed by a visit from an angel.
I told no one for months…
Who was I to be visited, why me, I wasn’t anything out of the ordinary?
I kept it to myself and continued my life as usual. In August the urge came upon me to restart a degree with the Open University. My previous credits could not be carried over, so I began again, I applied to study for a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, why creative writing? I had never really written, not since primary school, but had been surrounded at the local coffee shop by people who did, they wrote and performed at open mic events and it sounded like fun.
So I signed up.
Then, I began to paint. Again, not something I had ever taken seriously, and I am no Van Gogh, but I kept feeling the pull to paint angels. It got to the point where I was drawing or painting one every single day.
Until I painted Daisy, and as some of you know she wanted to tell me a story. This tale was a magical one about angelic beings helping humanity fight the Darkness in this world of ours. I wanted to write a non-fiction self-help type book, but I had no credentials to be writing that sort of book. I think the universe knew this which is why the story came out as a fantasy novel.
The need to share the vision I have for our world, one where we live with more love and curiosity and less hate and fear, this need did not go away. So I began this newsletter on May 5th, 2021 in an attempt to share ways to build our connections to the angelic and spiritual realms in order that we could be kinder to each other.
And to ourselves.
Only by forgiving ourselves for past mistakes, and being kinder to ourselves, can we move forwards, which was the topic of last week’s letter. Thank you so much to those of you who reached out and told me the words helped, it makes my heart glow. Sitting here writing these missives, I am never sure how they will be read, but I trust in spirit and the universe that they will land where they are needed.
So here I am, watched over by my paintings, writing to you, studying hard, and taking as many courses as I can to improve my spiritual connections. These letters were a little sporadic in the beginning, but now, barring illness, they are sent from my heart to yours every Sunday. I hope you continue to read and enjoy them, I am so blessed you are reading these.
If you made it through all that, well done, basically I am here to encourage you to be kinder to everyone you meet and to pay attention to your intuition, as you never know where that little voice in your head/gut is coming from.
If you have any questions, please reach out or ask in the comments section below, I love hearing from you.
The Nearness
It is early days yet, but The Nearness got underway this past week. It is an ‘Eight-week journey to Nurture your Spirituality’ with weekly meetings on zoom in small groups, expert guidance, and monthly workshops. It is, in part the brainchild of Casper ter Kuile, who, with some colleagues, have formed a spiritual co-op. Their description is much better than anything I can put into words when it comes to describing what they mean by spirituality:
People participating in The Nearness have a wide variety of beliefs, practices, and backgrounds. We don’t ask anyone to believe in any dogma; instead, we welcome difference. People in the 8-week journey identify in many ways–as spiritual, agnostic, religious, seeking, or as something that existing words don’t quite capture.
What is important is to be open to these principles:
There is something larger than us that we encounter in experiences of wonder and love;
This mystery calls on us to love others, ourselves, and the world around us.
The goal of our spiritual lives is to answer this calling.
To learn more about these principles, check out this blog post here.
If you are wondering who Casper ter Kuile is, there is a link to a video of a talk he gave last year, also, at the bottom of this letter, in the Links section, there is a link to an episode of The London Writers Salon Podcast. I also highly recommend his book *The Power of Ritual
Things catching my eye this week:
This post by Rhonda Douglas aka Resilient Writers is about showing ourselves some Self Compassion, it is written from a writer’s perspective but can translate to any area of our life where we are feeling a bit wobbly.
Lastly
Before I go and if you read this before 3 pm UK time Sunday 16th, I just want to give a shout-out to Louise Coghlan who is launching her book about her granny today. It is the incredible story of Ireland’s oldest lady, her life, and her thoughts on the world all rolled up in one incredible book. It will be live-streamed on Facebook, the link is here
Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.
Love and Light,
Tracy
Guided By angels will always be free to subscribers. If you enjoy it click the like button or share it with someone who might enjoy it. If you really like it and are able, please consider buying me a cup of tea.
Thank you for reading and for subscribing.
Until next time, bye for now.
Links:
Casper ter Kuile *The Power of Ritual book or Audiobook (amazon link)
Casper ter Kuile London Writers Salon Podcast Interview
Anything in bold and underlined is a link to the relevant article or web page. None are affiliate links, just things I hope to benefit you, or people whom I admire and have worked with in the past.
Note: If there is a * these are affiliate links and may earn me a few pennies without adding to your cost.
Thank you, Tracy! 👼