The Slow Sunday Letter : With Gratitude

Reflections on my first summer of Substack

Welcome to Slow Folk - a community for heart-centred entrepreneurs and rebellious creatives, thirsty for a slower life in a world obsessed with speed. These are my notes and reflections from over a decade of life in the Slow Lane.

If you’re ready to push back against busy to build a life of purpose and presence-over-perfection - please join me.

This is The Slow Sunday Letter, part of our free community. To get full access to future posts including bi-weekly Slow Work Wednesdays, The Kitchen Sink Podcast, and the full archive, please join us inside.

Welcome to the Unbusy Revolution.

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Hello dear reader,

I’m sitting in the garden this morning, watching the sun come up through still-smoky skies and reflecting on gratitude, serendipity and trusting one’s knowing.

I know Substack isn’t really for letters like this, but I wanted to write and say - Thank You.

(I’ve never been one for following the ‘rules’ anyway, if I’m being honest. No need to start now.)

I decided early this summer to move my writing from a self-hosted wordpress site to Substack. I had no real expectations except the hope that I could write the way that felt true for me - to write for people, not algorithms.

I’ve already been writing a newsletter to my farm customers weekly since 2015. It is uplifting, rooted work, and yet . . .

I always felt confined to the world around my kitchen table.

As my kids have grown, my desire to wander further afield with my writing has grown in kind.

I came to Substack in an effort to take a step beyond the threshold of my farmhouse kitchen. To remain rooted in this place and myself and my knowing - and also offer my open hands out to the wider world.

What I’ve found, to my surprise and delight, has been an incredibly supportive community of humans and fellow writers.

What a gift.

So, thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your valuable attention with me.

Your attention and time is so freaking precious and I don’t take it for granted for one single moment.

Thank you especially to all of you who have made me feel welcome, who have generously shared both my work and your own brave writing and thoughtful insights.

I am so grateful to have found you.

I am still finding my feet. Still learning. Always learning.

I appreciate your patience as I find a rhythm here, tentatively dip my toe into paid subscriptions, feel my way with curiosity and an open heart out into this world beyond my kitchen door.

My mantra these past months as I take the leaps into the unknown - building and launching my new brick-and-mortar farm shop, writing here - has been :

Fearfully Forward.

I wrote it on my fridge.

Speak it aloud daily, as my introverted-self circles larger and larger loops beyond my comfort zone, ever wider but always rooted, always returning home.

My purpose here is to encourage others to do the same. To deepen into our lives, soften into ourselves, to intentionally build a life that feels rooted and grounded and also reaches tentatively, boldly, for the sky.

Thank you for providing me space to do so. I am forever grateful.

As always.

Best,
Stacey

P.S. One of my favourite part of my work on the farm is the community we’ve built together.

To that end - I’d love it if you could introduce yourself and your work in the comments section so we can get to know one another - please include a link to your Substack if you have one!

And if you know someone who might enjoy the rebellious side of Slow Living, please do invite them to join us.

S

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Stacey Langford is a writer, renegade farmer and slow business mentor living and working in Canada’s Fraser Valley. In 2010 Stacey ditched her cubicle in the city to turn her attention homeward, farm and help others craft a simple life, from scratch.

Are you ready to build a life - and a living - you actually love?

I help rebellious solopreneurs and creatives build businesses rooted in Slow Values. If you’re ready to step into your own Slow Life and finally claim your calling, let’s chat!