I’ve really struggled this week.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Last weekend, I was away on what was essentially a girls’ weekend for work, and it was beautiful.
Drinks at a property in the King Valley, right by the creek as the light started to soften.
The next day rolled into a long lunch surrounded by creative people, all doing what they do best.
There was no rush to be anywhere, and conversations ran unedited and untimed.
New people, new friendships forming.
It felt expansive in the best way, like everyone was building something, moving forward, creating a future they believed in.
By the time I got home, I really missed my daughter, my dogs and my partner, so coming back to that was lovely.
What hit me almost immediately, though, was how loud everything else felt.
The headlines, the conversations, the underlying sense that things are shifting.
It’s there when you fill up the car, when you walk through the supermarket, when you catch snippets of conversation.
We all feel it, so I won’t labour the point.
What I noticed this week is that, even though I’m usually very solution focused, the kind of person who says, “control what you can control”, none of my own advice was really landing.
I felt unsettled, like I was waiting for someone to step in with something clear and reassuring.
That didn’t happen, and it made me pause.
If no-one is coming to steady things, then perhaps the question becomes, what can I actually do?
This question has had me in a spiral most of the week.
I’ve managed to at least temporarily self soothe with a few simple answers.
Time in the garden, planting winter vegetables.
Not only calming, it’s also practical.
There is something reassuring about putting something in the ground and knowing it will give back.
Supporting Australian farmers and businesses, choosing local produce where I can, and valuing the people who are growing and producing what ends up on our tables feels more important than ever.
Cuddling my dogs, sitting with my daughter, being present with my family instead of being somewhere else in my head.
None of these things change the bigger picture overnight.
What they do is bring you back to something steady.
Back to your home, your people, your community, and the things you can influence directly.
Because while things might feel uncertain, and they may well get harder, many of us are still living with a level of comfort and safety that is easy to overlook.
A warm home. A shared meal.
A cup of tea in a quiet moment.
These are small things, but they are not insignificant.
Perhaps this is also a time to appreciate that, and to lean into it.
To look out for each other a little more.
To support where we can.
To remember that community matters, and that collectively, we are far more capable than we sometimes think.
I don’t have the answers to what’s coming.
What I do know, is that there is something steady in self-sufficiency, in supporting local, in choosing to be present with the people around you.
There is something grounding in focusing on what is within reach.
Right now, that feels like a good place to start.