on softness and spaciousness

hi people,

i’ve been gone for a bit. there are many reasons woven into that – many life shifts, many cycles and patterns making their appearances, many visions for what this year will hold. i’ve been in the midst of huge transition followed by deeply wintering in my new little burrow in the city that i first ran off to. this time it feels smaller and more comforting, rather than the big, bright, and shiny it was when i moved here at 17. it’s a soft place to land after floating for awhile, and to find new dreams to nurture.

in this period of the year where nature is still sleeping and planting seeds for spring blooms, i’m dreaming up my own. and i’m finding that looks like letting this substack sunday love letter world be a bit more amorphous. my sights are set on some other dreams that are slowly taking more solid form, and i’d love to prioritize those while allowing myself this space as a playground of expression, and connection with you. i’m stepping away from the self-imposed rigidity that i created here before my lifestyle changed pretty dramatically. this looks like: pausing my inner circle love letters (paid) indefinitely and continuing on with my love letters on my own time. (really this is all on my own time but you know what i mean)

disclaimerish: i don’t feel like i owe this explanation to anyone (or think that anyone was waiting with bated breath for this), but if you’ve been around here a while you know i’m a big fan of transparency. and i realized this had been weighing on me a bit! i had to really sit with how i was feeling, with what my intentions were and are with this space. so, this is that… explained. lol.

this love letter project started a year and a half ago(!) with no clear vision in sight, aside from craving some sort of evidence for myself that i had shared an aspect of my creativity and unique viewpoint with the world, consistently. it was a practice in learning to get over that hump of absolute cringe before sharing real ooey gooey parts of you. it helped me connect with my voice in a new way, and connect with some of you in new ways. i’m endlessly grateful for you all who have borne witness to the exploration i’ve done in these letters.

SO, all that to say – sunday love letters is not ending. but it will likely be much more sporadic and ever-evolving. especially with the political landscape here in the U.S. causing a shift away from some social media platforms and towards others platforms like substack – i feel both grateful for this space and overwhelmed. i don’t want to get caught in the noise of folks debating how substack is transitioning to yet another endless scroll echo chamber, when i have really big pie-in-the-sky ideas that i’m intimidated by and also ready to sink my teeth into and make reality. i’m clearing the channel of spirit, of creativity that i feel passing through me in as many ways as i can – and so sunday love letters takes a back seat for a while to watch the rest of the show.

i hope your 2025 has been off to a sweet and slow start, and that you’ve allowed yourself softness. none of us need a reminder of how hard, sharp, and hurtful the world has felt recently. i hope you have also found a soft place to land, and give yourself as much grace as you need.

love always + talk soon,
coley

p.s. i’ve likely shared this quote before by one of my favorite poets. these words became my north star in how i show up in this world at a young age, and are reminders that i will never not need to hear. here it is again:

- iain thomas