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- Would you just let me breathe?
Would you just let me breathe?
Sarah Mucha
October 10th, 2023
Enjoy reading this? Your friend might, too. You can recommend it to them by sending this link. 🙂
My dad shared this poem with me a couple weeks ago, which he found posted on our neighborhood forum. I think it captures so much of what we’ve all talked about together in this newsletter (or maybe more accurately, what I’ve written at you about - though so many people do respond to these emails, and I so love when it turns into a conversation!)
So here’s the poem:
She sat in the back and they said she was shy/ She led from the front and they hated her pride/ They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance/ They branded her loud then were shocked by her silence/ When she shared no ambition they said it was sad/ She told them her dreams and they said she was mad / They told her they'd listen/ Then covered their ears/ And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears/ And she listened to it all,/ Thinking that she should be the girl they said she should be, best as she could be/ But then one day she asked what was best for herself instead of trying to please everyone else/ So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees/ She heard the wind whisper and danced with the leaves/ And she spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine she told them what she had been told, time after time/ She told them she felt she was never enough/ She told them they'd told her she was too little/ Or far far too much/ Too loud or too quiet or too fierce or too weak/ Too Wise or too foolish or too bold or too meek/ Then she found a clearing that was covered with firs/ And she stopped and she heard what the trees said to her/ And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave/ For the forest said nothing/ It just let her breathe.
-Becky Hemsley, 2021
In the world we live in, there’s rarely a time when it doesn’t feel like there’s so much going on, whether it’s in my personal life or in the world, or, usually, a combination of both. I know I’m not alone.
And there’s just something so calming and necessary about getting out of our normal environment. For the subject of this poem, it was the forest that just let her exist. For me most recently, it was my friend’s grandparents’ farm in Virginia I visited over the weekend. I met a donkey named Sadie, and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I was smitten. (Friends who were there can confirm I kept repeating, “This is the best day of my life” lol.)
Where’s your escape place? Do you have one you frequent? Would love to hear about it (and bonus if you live in the DC-area and have ideas!)
The New York Times: How Much Nature Is Enough? | Knvul Sheikh
The Times talks about a recent study that pinpoints exactly how many minutes per week you should spend outdoors for maximum benefit: 120.
You can find me on IG or just reply to this email. Or if you have any questions, send those, too. Getting your emails is still my favorite part of the week, so please keep them coming 🙂
Almost everything will work again if you
unplug it for a few minutes. Even you.