Since posting the sudden announcement that I would be taking a break due to a confluence of big life events, I’ve received the most generous response from Improvised Life’s readers: notes of sympathy, gratitude, understanding, support. They came in many forms: from Isabel Rower’s artwork card to emails and Comments, to hand-written notes.  Some readers subscribed to Friends with Benefits despite there being no new content, sending a little affirmation to my Inbox.

When I mentioned them to Susan Dworski, a frequent contributor who has become a friend though I have never met in person, she wrote:

Improvised life is a family, Sally.

In all their myriad forms, these messages affirm that just reaching out with a few words in an email can have the power to heal. They’ve been tangibly helping me navigate a difficult time. It was from reading Sybille Palmer’s note that I realized it to be a big rite of passage.

I have recently gone through my share of losses, both my husband and my mother- within days of each other. Nowadays I search for new meaning in life, a new beginning. You are one of the voices that helps me on this path.

I have been so grateful for what you offer to the world and have followed the IL for some years now. Thank you and please know my thoughts are with you during this rite of passage.

 

Isabel Rower card 3 sally
Isabel Rowerwh

Amid all that has been going on — and continues reverberate— I am deeply grateful for my unexpected, diverse and wondrous family at Improvised Life.

Thank you for bearing with, and being so THERE.

 

 

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7 replies on “Improvised Family

  1. I’ve been following for a few years and want you to know that your creative spirit and point of view have brightened many days of frustration and reminded me that an unconscious improvisation occurs everyday, each one resonating humanity and hope and often joy. Those reminders are pure grace and I appreciate you so much for that. I’m thinking of you and sending you hope and improvised joy while you move around or over or through any barriers you are encountering. Thanks for sharing all your resources with us.

  2. Dear Sally,

    I feel so connected to you because of The Improvised Life, Susan Dworski is so right.

    Your life is shifting in huge ways right now – losing a parent means we fit in the world differently and that is a lot to process. Your mother must have been so proud of you and what you add to the this world in your living and giving and creating.

    Living creatively means we need to live with openness. Living with openness is scary, exhilarating, and hugely important. Being open to change and shift is what gives space for miracles. And miracles – large and small – happen every day. We need to stay present to that fact!

    I hope you allow yourself to feel the support and good wishes of everyone who believes in you, and that you give yourself permission to lean on it. Be as radically kind to yourself as you possibly can. You are loved.

  3. I so admire your courage to be vulnerable, present, and attentive to ALL that life dishes out.
    Love and happiness…

  4. Sally,

    IL is a delightful place of inspiration and whimsy, and I’m so glad that you’re receiving such kind support from the community of readers who have enjoyed your creative and loving spirit for so long! I know nothing I can say can ease your pain, but just want to be sure you know how cherished you are by so many, and that I hope you’re able to find some refuge in that love.

  5. Thank you, deeply. I take big refuge in Improvised Life and am constantly knocked out by our readers.

  6. Thank you so much Lorene. We are all here trying to figure out how to navigate ALL that life dishes out, and the many choices and possibilities we have in the moment. As hard as these past weeks/months have been, they have also been full of miracles.

  7. I’m thinking improvised refuge.

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