The Highs and Lows of Uncertainty

Extended metaphors, weather, and words

Algrundet, Åland, Finland | Photo taken by the author

Hello!

This is the third version of this newsletter that I’ve started. I started two others in August, one in which I intended to talk about the rich bounty of berries this amazing place offers. The other is about the weather. This version reflects how I’ve been on the feeling the past few weeks (actually, perhaps more like eighteen months!).

Summer was glorious! It was my first summer off in over two years. I spent time soaking up the sun and fresh air. I chilled out in the countryside, travelled around the islands on our boat, took photos, read books, and recharged my batteries.

Then August arrived.

Quite frankly, it was like being plunged into ‘Winter Is Coming’ mode. Leaping into a hole in the ice to the frozen depths of the black water right from August the first. In other years since I moved here, August has slowly eased us into autumn. Slightly cooler, but still warm enough to have a dip or go boating.

Not this year! What a shock! Cold, windy, grey.

An excellent metaphor for how I’ve felt with the uncertainty that we’re all living with. Thanks to Covid-19, I haven’t seen my Australian family since December 2019. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, cousins, uncles, aunts…and my own children. It’s really starting to feel difficult.

Don’t get me wrong, I'm eternally grateful to technology that allows me to message, video call, play games with them. But how do I cope with the uncertainty of when I’ll actually see them again? Because my coping cape is wearing very thin.

My coping cape. I throw it on, in a flourish. It protects me from the niggling fear and doubt. It’s colourful. It’s shiny. But by golly, it’s getting threadbare! It had a few thin patches even before Covid-19 entered our lives. Life has a way of wearing your coping cape a little thin at times. It requires time - plus some good embroidery thread and perhaps even some patches to repair it. (Nothing quite like an extended metaphor.)

But I have so many questions:

When can I head to Australia? When can my family visit me? How many family birthdays will I miss? When can I hug my children? When will I feel comfortable in crowds again?

I don’t have any answers. I’m just floating along on this big blue planet in the huge expanse of the universe, trying to make sense of things. All these questions will remain unanswered…until they are answered.

I guess, some days are wonderful and others are a little bit crap.

So today I chose to ride my bike. I took the photo above as I breathed in, slowly. As I peddled past reeds and rocks and red houses. It was calming. Soothing. And I forgot about the uncertainty. Momentarily.

Thanks for reading!

Lisa x

---

Some Cool Things

I recently subscribed to a newsletter that makes me chuckle every time I get it. It’s called Meat & Hair - strange name but check it out and read how it got its name.

If you’re in Europe (or even if you’re not) I’ve just become a member at Writer’s HQ. You can join for free or subscribe. Even as a free member they have courses, zoom events you can join, a community of writers. They don’t email you very often but when they do it’s always fun - full of Doctor Who references and some sweary fun! Check them out.

Medium is one of the platforms I write on. You can get 5 reads per month for free or subscribe and read everything (it also means you can write stories too). By using this link to sign up for a subscription you’re supporting me and a whole lot of other writers (I can’t guarantee the writing quality though. It’s a mixed bag!)

I discovered a gorgeous YouTube channel called Pick Up Limes. The videos are beautifully made, with soothing music, showcasing delicious recipes, indoor plant care, amongst other things. Sadia’s latest clip, An Afghan Feast: what I ate growing up not only shows some lovely recipes but the proceeds PUL receive for watching it will be donated to three different charities that help refugees. Both Sadia’s parents were Afghan refugees who escaped to Canada (she now lives in the Netherlands).

Writing & Reading

Despite putting off writing this little newsletter I have been writing other things. Medium had a writing competition with some serious cash prizes. Initially, I was unsure whether I’d enter, but I ended up writing in all four categories:

Just A Moment Ago (the entry for the Space category)
The Industry of a Forest (my entry for the Work category)
Hope Is A Glowing Thing (my entry for the Death category)
Calming the Butterflies (my entry for the category Re-Entry)

The links are ‘friend’ links so you don’t need a subscription to read them.

I haven’t entered any writing competitions before, but it spurred me on to enter a poem into a competition, as well as work on an entry for the SBS Emerging Writer’s Competition. I listened to a podcast recently where the writer said she entered a competition, didn’t win, but was contacted by a publisher who was a judge, so you never know!

Which leads me to reading! My current reads are:

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - it’s really nice to read a book about creativity that resonates so deeply with me. I find myself nodding often!

The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor - a really powerful, and often confronting read that has really challenged the way I see myself, think about myself, and treat myself.

I highly recommend Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. It’s a fun read but also challenges sterotypes - of course Punjabi widows have sexual feelings! Apparently it’s been translated into 15 languages! Jaswal is also Australian 💕

A Safe and Brave Space

I’m also a part of a group called the Garden of Neuro. Our mission is to ignite, inspire, support, and honour women from all over the world in a space where they feel safe and can be brave. It’s a growing group, with members from all over the world. We meet up virtually, discuss ideas, books, and thoughts, support and cheer for each other. We are in the process of running poetry and art workshops to publish an anthology titled A Safe and Brave Space at the end of September. There are also courses you can do, free and fee-paying, and I host a fortnightly Book Chat (European & Australian Time Zone friendly). The added bonus is there’s no cost to join! If you’re interested (and a woman), check it out here. Or press reply on your email to ask me any questions.