Mapmaking in Uncertain Times
for folks exploring how to build a meaningful life in times of grief, loss + change
Welcome. My name is Stacey and this is Slow Folk.
I’ve been writing here off-and-on since 2022, among the storms and changing seasons of life in a world upended by loss, grief and uncertainty. I thought it was time to introduce myself and my writing in a more intentional way.
I am a mother, artist, regenerative farmer, writer and grief-worker.
My goal isn’t to present myself as some sort of expert; you don’t need me to tell you what to do or where to go. You are wise and immensely capable. You already know the way. I write so that I don’t go crazy. So that I can connect with other folks who embody what Wendell Berry calls ‘contrarian sanity’. So I won’t feel so alone.
(I’m certainly not here to share the superficial aesthetic version of Slow Living you might be familiar with from Instagram or Pinterest. That’s not the kind of slowness Slow Folk is about. Slowness in this context is a tool - one we can use to fight back against the pressures of a world obsessed with speed. To make space and create enough quiet that we can once again hear the whispers of our own hearts.)
Just like you - I’m also trying to uncover what it means to build a big, beautiful life of purpose and meaning in uncertain times.
I ask myself questions like:
What does it mean to have hope in dark days?
How do we live lives of presence and purpose in a world that profits from our distraction and fear?
How do we become producers instead of consumers - or worse yet - the product?
What is my highest point of contribution in a hurting world?
Is it possible to make space for joy even when we don’t know what the future holds?
How do I possibly stretch myself wide enough to hold all this grief?
What skills do I need to steward my community forward into a better future?
How do I simultaneously protect my tender spaces while also increasing my resilience, grit and capacity to persevere?
I’m simply here to walk alongside you as we tease apart these questions, together. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we can build maps of meaning to help others find their way.
Are you ready? Let’s go.
Start Here
Slow Folk is a place for folks asking a particular question - the one Mary Oliver wrote about: What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Lately that question has taken on new weight. Many of us are asking it in the middle of disruption - personal, cultural, ecological. Old maps aren’t holding the way they used to.
The writing here explores how to build a meaningful life - at home and in our work - in times of uncertainty, grief, and change.
I don’t claim to have the answers. Like I said, I am, like you, ever in search of more beautiful questions. I believe the quality of our questions determines the quality of our lives.
Our task - as mothers, as creatives, as humans beings choosing to live as creatures in a world of machines - is to find the courage to move Fearfully Forward into an unknown future, leaving maps and breadcrumbs towards a better world, singing as we go.
If you’re new, here’s a simple way to navigate the territory:
The Question
Reflections on purpose, direction, and the deeper question of how we want to live. Finding language for our challenges so that we may better wrap our arms around both ourselves and a hurting world.
Grief + Uncertainty
Writing about loss, disruption, and what it means to live through unstable times - both personally and collectively. Whether you are navigating the changes of midlife or motherhood or grappling with how to preserve a sense of hope in a world on fire, we can talk about it here.
Self-Trust
Rebuilding an inner compass. Learning to trust your instincts and redefine success on your own terms. Quieting the noise so we can hear our inner voice and make our own maps.
Work & Living
Thoughts on building work, projects, and ways of living that actually fit the life you want - not the other way around. A exploration of Slow Living for REAL LIFE, not just another superficial aesthetic take.
Staying Human
Practices for the long haul: slowness, land, resilience, community, and the small things that help us stay steady. Discovering what it means to choose to live as a creature among machines.
You don’t have to read in order. Follow the thread that resonates most right now.
There may be more beautiful times, but this one is ours. - Jean-Paul Sartre
Wishing you hope, curiosity and courage. I’m so happy you’re here.
As always.
Stacey Langford is a writer, farmer, and grief worker living in Canada’s Fraser Valley. Her work explores the intersection of loss, belonging, and the quiet courage it takes to build a life that feels like your own. She writes about slowness, self-trust, and finding your way home to yourself in a world obsessed with speed.
Here for all that you share, I’m a constant ‘questioner’ too and yours writing always illuminates something in me. Xx
Beautiful questions that I’m answering for myself and how that looks like for me. I want to foster a creative community dedicated to social transformation and habitat stewardship.