A Ramble Through 2024
What I'm keeping from a year of ebbs and flows.
Does any year really unfold the way we imagine it when we wake up on January 1st? I fall into the trap of New Year’s resolutions, gnashed teeth dreams of really shaking things up and transforming myself into something completely different. And yet here I am, listening to Joni Mitchell with a homemade oatmilk cappuccino in my husband’s shabby armchair that I covered with a fluffy white sheepskin. I am exactly who I am and always have been.
And who the heck is that person anyway? What have I learned about myself in a year of ups, downs, detours, disappointments, and elations?
Why not iron out those chestnuts into a rambling stream of consciousness list…
I never expected that Neko Case’s Entering the Lung would be the one Substack I read every single time it lands in my inbox. God, how I love her honesty, raw emotion, and willingness to shine a light in the darkness with her unvarnished voice.
One year later than intended, I finally published Harvesting Wild Light. It’s odd how off-plan and off-brand this book felt to the rational part of me who relentlessly strives to keep things nice and orderly. Yet beneath my perfectionism (which really had a field day in 2024) this book refused to be ignored and insisted on being finished and set forth into the world. A little taste of my own medicine, perhaps, so I can fully embody the wisdom I share with authors to listen to what their books have to say.
Apparently being more irritable than usual is a symptom of perimenopause. But what if perimenopause is exacerbated by living in a patriarchal, crumbling democracy that insists on taking rights away from women, children, and the whole spectrum of beautiful people who deserve to thrive as much as anyone else?
I am ready to level up into a potent new phase of motherhood and matriarchy because I am so over it with being told something is wrong with me (you, us) when I am simply experiencing a completely natural reaction to a deeply flawed system. So yes, I am extremely perimenopausal and I am resolved to channel this ‘irritability’ into righteous rage and spiritual practice.
Music is back in my life in unexpected ways. I took two guitar lessons and relearned Blackbird. I play cello again because my youngest son decided to learn it at school. I bought at least 60 CDs and (re)discovered new artists I love, like the Secret Sisters, Laura Marling, Brandi Carlile and Katy J Pearson. All this music has been a much-needed balm and elixir to quench some very dried out parts of my soul as it navigates this quotidian life.
I made a new woodland garden and planted three trees: a River Birch (Betula nigra), Japanese Elm (Zelkova serrata) and a Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arbor). Even though I sadly discovered invasive jumping worms in our yard and the deer ate my new hostas, I am still so nourished by the time I spend with my hands in the dirt.
Distracted by all the things, I drifted from my personal writing practice and coaxed myself back again. It’s so important to share this because I never want to pretend I don’t know the ebbs and flows of creativity firsthand. It is no easy feat to raise children, put food on the table, do the laundry, drive the carpool, get some sleep, and still make writing a part of everyday life.
There is likely more to say, but I think I’ll let it unfurl over time. I aim to be a sustainable writer who keeps a slow and steady drumbeat of hitting publish. My desire is to ride the lunar cycles and seasons of this creative fire within and nurture it into a glowing burn that keeps our toes warm and our souls fed on even the iciest winter night.
Standing on the edge of 2024, looking back and saying good-bye, I am delighted to be turning the page on this year. I will take its lessons and gifts, carrying them with me tenderly. And the things that are no longer needed I will set down, offering them to the fire, the water, and the sky.
Sending them deep into the soil and casting them into icy streams so they can be combined anew for the next wayfarer to find.
Leah Kent is an artist and green witch who wildcrafts flower essences and drums before writing. Officially a book coach and author who helps wisdom keepers and visionaries write and publish transformational books about their work in the world.
Order your copies of Harvesting Wild Light (poems) and Awakening the Visionary Voice.