35 Comments
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Hal Walker's avatar

This is such beautiful writing, Emma! And hearing you speak it just now was exquisite. It’s an honor to know you. See you in Coleshill. ❤️

Ruth's avatar

This is such a painfully beautiful post, Emma. There are so many pieces that I resonate with as I crumble, yet remain unbroken. Thank you for sharing this glimpse with us.

David B Younger, PhD's avatar

This is beautiful and resonates so deeply for me and my experience living with a chronic illness.

Loucifer Mourningstar's avatar

dear friend, i've tried with all my might: how can we support your work with a paid subscription? this app is making me crazy trying to find the right button.

Emma Kitchen's avatar

Hello Lou! I was thinking about you recently. So glad to see you again. How are you doing?

Oh my gosh I am SO touched you want to offer your support in this way!! Feels incredible to receive your words this morning. I haven’t got paid subscriptions turned on. I kinda felt I couldn’t really because I post infrequently. But my goodness it would be wonderful to maybe move in that direction if I could get more writing done.

I have some ideas for the new year, and hopefully it might make it a bit easier for me get stuff out. Body willing ❤️

Honestly I am so touched! I know I already said that,,,, but I really am! Thank you. Maybe I could put one of those buy me a coffee buttons on my page or something. I see some people have them. Thank you Lou. Your messages always carry a gift in them 🖤

Loucifer Mourningstar's avatar

I'm persisting, my friend 🖤 A seeming tonne of rolling PEM but some small moments of joy during my favourite season.

I wanted to follow up with your point re: posting frequency just to say, for what it's worth — anyone who’d want to support you that way would be doing so because they value what you’ve already shared with us and believe in your vision and want to honour your energy in a tangible way. I'll speak for myself and say I have no attachment to your posting frequency or productivity metrics. It’s just about honoring your work and perspective, and energy here, however and whenever it shows up. 🌹

Miranda Ruth Gill's avatar

I don't have words for how extraordinarily beautiful this is. It reminded me of an ancient Christian mystical text called “Thunder, perfect mind”.

The sun is no longer the light in the darkness. It's you.

Caz Jefferies's avatar

Thank you, your words resonate so deeply 🙏❤️

Emma Kitchen's avatar

Thank you Caz, I am so happy to read your words ❤️

Mo's avatar

wow! thank you.

those paradoxes really speak to me too.

Emma Kitchen's avatar

Hey Mo! 🙏 thank you. Those paradoxes are wild ❤️

Mo's avatar

Yes! especially for black and white thinkers? quite psychedelic!

Joe's avatar

Deeply moving, Emma. The thought that came to me was the luminous darkness. I’m not very familiar with John of the Cross, although I have Mirabai Starr’s book.

Your voice is as sweet and soft as the petals of the moon. You have tremendous courage, even as you did exploring the cave. You are an intrepid explorer. Thank you for sharing your journey through the mystical night.

Ryn Rose's avatar

I've got CFS and Ehler's Danlos Syndrome, so my collagen is formed all skewiff. Just lately it's been breaking down behind my eyes. Two opticians said I'd ruptured both my retinas, (alarming!) yet an eye specialist doctor said that it's just lattice degeneration due to my wonky collagen formation. But I've been thinking a lot about sight, about Doing Looking, about seeing too much, perhaps. Or not wanting to look. There's that, too. This article was timely for me, therefore. Thank you for writing it. Thank you for all your ways of seeing. There are more than meet the eyes. :) Love and strength to you. xx

Geraldine A. V. Hughes's avatar

Lovely soul voice Emma and stunning English accent, your words are birds that take flight in moonlight and fly in sacred directions carrying your call to the holy women.

It’s been awhile since I said hello dear sister and to tell you, I love you💋

John doe's avatar

Do you ever contend with the possibility that, perhaps, suffering is the inevitable lot of being human? I appreciate your perspectives, I can relate to all of them at varying points throughout my own continually unfolding experience. Sometimes I yearn for the repose and peacefulness of awareness without content, other times I feel inclined to chase and pursue one desire or another. But in the end (whatever that is) I find myself confronted with a tension that never seems to cease within the relentless ebb and flow of experience, and I wonder if perhaps that's where we must inevitably return again and again as long as we're bound by flesh and time. Great post!

Stephanie Lam's avatar

I see you Emma. I was with my partner as she went through the same experience as you. (For years, although now fully recovered). Your learning and your words are magnificent.

I am praying Emma that you too may stand in the sunlight again and feel full of bliss and ease.

PS please DM if you need to.

Annette's avatar

Well Emma it seems you have found your purpose and your gift to share with the world. We are grateful!

On another note, have a listen to Kate Sutherland song, In the Dark Days of November.

folkfuturist's avatar

I didn't know there was a wormhole in Derbyshire. I had a very lightweight (but irritating) cat fishing situation with a gut in derby last year. (I'm in Philadelphia.) I want to go to that museum of making so badly!!!

Now I don't want to scare you with how weird I can get but when I had my assault and brain trauma in June it shortly led to what we have deduced were shifts into other, nonlinear timelines. A wormhole in Derbyshire actually EXPLAINS one of these shifts!! I cannot wait to tell my partner! (Who is a neuroscientist!)

Stephen Bender's avatar

Beautiful Emma,

So here's my takeaway from it: you are doing it, you are creating and conveying experience and thoughts to others whom have possibly struggled with what you describe in your piece.

Thank you 🙏🏼😊

Brendan's avatar

You are a gifted writer, Emma. Thank you