Dear Substack,

A love letter to what has become my favourite place on the internet, a space that fosters creativity, slowness, listening and self-expression.

Photo by Lakeisha Bennett on Unsplash

Dear Substack,

I’m only just typing the first words of this letter and yet, my eyes are already blurry.

I’ve just spent over an hour browsing through your pages. In your world, this means reading 3 articles, being touched by a few notes, listening to a song, subscribing to one new channel. Not dozens of 5 seconds videos, catchy hooks and tons of visual impressions.

I catch myself feeling soft, grounded, inspired. This is the effect you have on me. You make me want to slow down, to pause. When the habits of scrolling or jumping to another window creep in, you remind me to stay put, resist the rush and finish reading the page I am on. When I see a new article arrive from one of the writers I subscribe to, it prompts me to make a tea, sit down and read with attention.

Whenever I get curious about your comments sections, I get reminded of the kindness and goodwill of people. Maybe I’ve missed them so far but it seems the haters haven’t made it here yet. What a breeze. Your space seems filled with bright minds, creative artists, inspiring leaders and support.

I love that this is a place where celebrities, renown authors, poets and amateur writers like me collide to share words on what is meaningful to them. Not just for the sake of likes and follows, but to voice their hearts and passions, to connect with others in what feels to me like a more genuine, honest and vulnerable way.

For sure this is what you provide for me. A space to express the noise in my head, to put down on paper (okay, keyboard) what inspires me, questions me, moves me. Week by week, you remind me to take a step back from the daily hassle of solo entrepreneurship and make time to write and share what is on my mind and heart. I love how easy you make it to write, include pictures or give people the option to listen to my voice rather than read - the gift of simplicity without compromising aesthetics.

This is the smallest channel I have across online platforms (so far…), yet you’re probably the dearest to me, as I feel so much appreciation for every person taking the time to pause and read the words I send to their mailbox each week.

At times the thought to strategise a bit more about what I post and share here comes back; old habit dictated by the rules of business, algorithms, engagement techniques; the voice that tell me that maybe I should organise better what I write here to make it fit into my growth plan… then I remember why I created this channel, why I wrote that first post 6 months ago: for the joy of writing, the space to express myself unfiltered, the opportunity to connect with whoever would resonate with my experience of being a human navigating the world we live in.

At times I write here with my hat of yoga and meditation teacher; my work is such a meaningful part of my life that I can’t really help it I think. Yet, what I love most here is that you allow me to show up as me, Anne, beyond these labels, just me but also all of me. This feels intimidating sometimes (can I share all this?); mostly liberating. And as you give me space to show more of myself, to organise my thoughts, to write more freely, I hope it creates space for others to do the same.

Thank you for the slowness, the simplicity, the poetry, the inspiration, the push to show up weekly, the freedom to be. Six months here together, I really feel it’s just the beginning.

With love,
Anne 🖤