Read, Shake, Appreciate #13

Welcome to Read, Shake, Appreciate! This is your fortnightly round-up of words that made me feel inspired, songs that made me shake my ass, and people who I think deserve some spotlight.

This week, I’m shaking up the “R” in “RSA” and sharing a little something that I wrote, rather than something I read. This is a poem I wrote when I was in the worst of my depression, about what I wanted life to feel like one day. I read it back recently, and realised I’m here. I’m at “one day”. And that feels pretty fucking beautiful. I wanted to share it here because you all are the most supportive of things I create. And if you’re struggling right now, I hope this can be a reminder to keep going until “one day” comes around. 💜

one day, i will wake up before nine

and my mind will be on my side

maybe we'll go out into the air

see people and say good morning

we'll know how to make real coffee

and to do lists that seem like enough

we'll smile at dogs and flowers and the sky

all of this will feel like home

maybe we'll take in the news sometimes

but we won't believe it's our fault

we'll make something small and beautiful

and hold on to each other at night

we'll see ones we love and believe them

we'll dance and sing and cry

we won't know it all and that will be fine

we'll tell ourself that everything is fine.

some days we'll know it's okay to be still

others we'll let evenings overflow

we'll daydream about unknown places

and we'll let ourself want to go

we'll believe that we always have time

that the space up here belongs to us

we'll bind together when thieves come

and stay grounded when reality quakes

we'll speak to ourself softly

and touch our skin as if it's new

we will let ourself be ugly

we'll kiss our anger and say thank you

we'll be too sure for mirrors

we'll look men right in the eye

we'll regrow all that was taken

and build castles around the roots

we’ll be vast and incomprehensible

we’ll be small and okay with that, too

one day

one day

we will learn not to abandon each other

we will stay here

we will stay.

one day

i will wake up before nine

This week I’m shaking to: Doing Great by Jasimi:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5LjM2jr6wJIttuISois1BF?si=f7cea8a68912411b

Less of a shake, more of beautiful self-love pep talk to music. The line “you broke my heart now I know myself I don’t need an apology” hits especially hard.

This week I’m appreciating: Tasha from @realtalk.therapist

Colourful content from a qualified therapist that’s the perfect combination of gentle and straight-to-the-point? Count me in. I’ve followed Tasha for a while now and I love how she brings light and humour into her teaching about trauma and self-love. A must follow.

Whew! This felt like quite a personal one to share! If you have any kind words to spare, the comment section is open 😊 (also, you can always find previous newsletters on my Substack homepage, which you can get to by clicking here) take care my loves! 💜