For people who are done letting outside voices — technology, experts, cultural noise — drown out their own. Every issue explores how to reclaim your discernment, your body awareness, and your creative authority across the parts of life that matter most: technology, relationships, wellness, work, and creativity.
The weekend my neck made me stop
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Last week, I talked about my excitement to try out building with Claude. I built two full apps that actually work! (If you're interested in trying them out, let me know, would love feedback) And I mentioned at the end how my neck hurt. Well, it got worse. I spent that whole weekend resting because it literally hurt to move my head. And on top of that, I had my monthly reminder to slow down — the kind that comes whether you're ready for it or not. I find that when I actually honor that time in my cycle, I feel so much more energized for the rest of the month. My body asked me to stop. I listened. So I did something unusual for me. I lay in bed and let my mind go. I went for walks with my husband. I listened to the Wuthering Heights audiobook as I'd seen the Margot Robbie film about a month ago and it had wrecked me. And I just... existed for a few days. What came up surprised me. I have this feeling that shows up sometimes, a persistent urgency that says: be more productive or you're going to die before you do anything that matters. I'm going to die before I write all my books. Before I do what I came here to do. It sounds dramatic. But it's been real and it's paralyzed me more than it's pushed me forward. Last weekend's rest cracked something open. I came out on the other side with less intensity around all of it. Some acceptance I hadn't found before. That I'm okay with not doing everything. That I'm okay with just being. Enjoying the journey. What needs to come through will come through. I'm learning that my version of productivity might not match what all the advice says. Intense work, then intense rest. Maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe that's how it works for me. I'm still figuring it out. And I'm glad my body made me stop long enough to bring that awareness. Resting and rising, Rachel |
Renaissance Rachel
For people who are done letting outside voices — technology, experts, cultural noise — drown out their own. Every issue explores how to reclaim your discernment, your body awareness, and your creative authority across the parts of life that matter most: technology, relationships, wellness, work, and creativity.
A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law handed me a stack of pillows she wasn't using anymore. I took them home without thinking much of it. The following Sunday, she saw them sitting out at my place and told me, in Serbian, where they'd come from. One of them, her own mother had embroidered. I understood every word. I'm still learning the language, and that day, it landed. That pillow moment turned into something bigger: the same question I've been sitting with for years, long before "human...
Some of my most productive moments happen when I'm so focused that time disappears. I love when that happens. What I'm noticing lately is that working with Claude creates its own rhythm. I'll set it on a task that takes a few minutes to process. While it works, I could open two more tasks and start bouncing between them. Sometimes that works. Sometimes I end up scattered, getting less done than if I'd just waited. What's been working better: I step away from the computer entirely. Yesterday I...
Last evening, my husband and I went for a walk. Along the way, an elderly neighbor asked for help picking cherries from his tree. Long story short, we ended up with over a gallon of cherries and I had the opportunity to figure out what to do with them. It gave me a taste of what seasonal living is really like. I grew up having everything available year round at supermarkets. I often wonder about what life was like before modern conveniences. What did people do? Well, when your neighbor's...