August ~ Spring came early.
August has felt like a month of listening a little more closely.
As I sit here at the end of August, moving through the monthly practice I’ve returned to for years, I’m reminded how powerful it is to look back before automatically moving forward. To notice what worked, what needed my attention, what I actually followed through on ~ and to give myself grace for the things that took a little longer.
Sometimes we don’t need to know exactly what comes next. We simply need enough space to listen.
Pause here.
My monthly meeting with myself is where I pause to reflect, celebrate, practise gratitude and set my intentions for what comes next. It’s a pocket of time I protect with so much intention ~ sometimes at a beautiful café, sometimes quietly at home.
This month I’ve also found myself taking more of my work outside, setting up a little office on our front verandah and letting the beautiful winter sun warm my back while I create. There’s something about that warmth that feels nourishing and energising all at once.
Because life happens. Plans change. Emotions need space. And sometimes the things I thought I’d finish in a few days take a few weeks instead. My monthly meeting gives me somewhere to return to ~ to notice, reassess and continue.
We can hold ourselves accountable without being hard on ourselves.
Be Her Now is finally here.
I’ve sat with this practice, lived it, refined it and returned to it myself month after month. And now I’ve created a beautiful way for you to walk alongside me.
Take yourself somewhere beautiful. Sit on a sunny verandah. Find your favourite café. Pour yourself something you love. This is your monthly meeting with yourself ~ a space to pause, reflect, celebrate, reconnect with what matters and consciously choose what comes next.
You don’t have to wait to become her. You get to practise being her now.
The Energy I’m Living In
The past few months have held a lot emotionally ~ grief, supporting people I love and making space for conversations that have mattered deeply. And while July reminded me of what matters most, August has shown me something else: sometimes we need to allow ourselves to receive too.
“Every woman needs someone to look up to, and someone to look out for. I was lucky enough to stand between both. Forever in my heart.”
A beautiful opportunity came into my world this month.
That I very nearly let pass me by. And it was two incredible women who slowed me down long enough to reflect something back to me ~ reminding me of my own potential and allowing me to see something perhaps even bigger than I had allowed myself to see.
I spend so much of my work holding space for women, reflecting their light back to them and helping them see what’s possible. There was something profoundly full-circle about allowing women I trust to do the same for me.
The women I work with don’t simply allow me into their lives. They expand mine too. And I will never take that for granted.
“Sometimes the women we hold space for become the very women who remind us what’s possible for ourselves.”
I want to take a little moment here to thank two beautiful women in my life, Kate @kurrajongridgeflowerfarm and Lauren @omaroo.house
Fellow lovers of flowers, nature, slow living, sourdough and all those simple things that somehow bring us back home to ourselves.
The last few months have held a lot for me, particularly around my eyes, and at times it has played with my emotions, my clarity and the way I’ve been thinking. These two women have gently slowed me down when I’ve become caught up in my own thoughts, and somehow seen what I couldn’t always see for myself.
And Kate, thank you for opening your gates, giving me space to wander and sending me home with your gorgeous snapdragons to enjoy. Sometimes it really is the simplest things that bring us back to what matters.
I’m forever grateful for the women who remind me to slow down, look around and come back to myself.
Alongside all of this, I’ve been listening more closely to my body too ~ particularly my beautiful eyes. Giving them more rest, nourishing my nervous system and recognising that even within an intentional life, there can always be another invitation to soften even more.
What has been quietly asking for more of your attention lately?
This Month in the Studio
Our studio has been moving forward so quickly this month. Walls are going up, we received that very exciting tick of approval from council, and after being patient with the process, it’s pretty special watching something we’ve imagined for so long physically take shape.
And yes… somewhere amongst all that progress, I went inside to make Andrew a coffee and came back to discover the pear tree I’d been resisting removing was gone. Apparently the excavator accidentally backed into it. A blank canvas for the landscaping it is.
And beyond the walls, the most beautiful little adventures have been unfolding. Violet took me through our paddocks, amongst the animals, down bush tracks and deep into our little pocket of nature.
These sessions never really feel like photo shoots to me. They’re childhood adventures ~ and I simply get the privilege of following along and documenting them. Even the bush had a few surprises waiting for us. In the middle of August, beautiful pink blossoms were appearing amongst the shrubs, and we kept discovering little pockets of flowers along the way. They made the most beautiful backdrop for Violet’s photographs and felt like the sweetest little taste of what’s to come.
It was almost as though spring had arrived early, quietly letting us know it wasn’t too far away.
That’s the studio I’m creating ~ not simply a room, but a place where stories, creativity and beautiful experiences can unfold.
Another little adventure unfolded this month with Roisin, Tom and their beautiful family.
There was a real calling for greenery and calming imagery, and I loved hearing that the natural backdrops I photograph in were part of what spoke to Roisin before she booked.
Roisin came to me through a beautiful recommendation from a friend, and it’s something I’m always so grateful for ~ the incredible women my work continues to connect me with. We get to support one another in so many different ways.
And now the tables are turning, because next week I’m heading to Roisin for a facial. I’m so excited ~ and I’m sure I’ll tell you all about that in next month’s Editorial.
But for now, look at these beautiful images. 🤎
The Women I Get to Work With
Last month I shared a small glimpse into my work with Hina. This month, I wanted to open the door a little further.
What began with conversations around her values and vision moved into a visualisation, personalised vision prints and eventually her photography. There were tears, beautiful realisations and that powerful moment of saying out loud what she could truly see for herself and her work.
Before we began photographing, Hina opened her vision prints for the first time. We slowed down, let her take them in and allowed the vision to become something she could not only imagine, but physically see.
This month, I invited Hina to share the experience in her own words.
A Conversation with Hina
Before we did the visionary work together, how clear did you feel about the bigger vision for your work and where you wanted to take it?
I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted my business to look like, what I wanted to offer and, ultimately, where I wanted to take it. But a lot of it was still sitting in my mind ~ sometimes very clear and other times a little scattered.
Going through the vision work with you helped solidify those ideas. There was something quite powerful about actually speaking them out loud and hearing myself say clearly, this is what I want to create. It took something that had been living in my thoughts and made it feel much more real and possible.
What was it like going through the visualisation process and actually saying that vision out loud? Was there anything you saw, felt or realised in that moment that surprised you?
Your prompting, encouragement and completely non-judgmental approach made it much easier for me to be authentic and say what I truly wanted without worrying about whether my dreams sounded too big or unrealistic.
I saw the beautiful wellness sanctuary I want to create ~ a place centred around genuine care, restoration and wellbeing. But what surprised me was that I also saw beyond the business itself. I could see my ultimate dream: using what I build through my work to eventually create something very special for two generations that are particularly close to my heart ~ older people and children.
That vision has always been somewhere within me, but saying it out loud made me realise just how deeply connected it is to why I want to build a successful business in the first place. The dream that had been buried under self-doubt had completely shot to the north star.
You saw your vision prints for the first time just before we began your photography session. What did it feel like to physically see the vision we had created together?
It honestly felt unreal.
Everything I had seen in my mind and spoken about during our session was suddenly right there in front of me. What made it even more incredible was knowing that you hadn't seen what I had seen ~you had simply listened to me describe it ~ and somehow you turned those words into something visual that felt so connected to my vision.
Those prints are something I can keep as a reminder of what I am working towards. Seeing them made me feel, I don't just want this to happen someday. I want to start creating it now.
And I think your whole approach made an enormous difference to the photography session itself. I became so comfortable that at some point I almost forgot we were doing a photoshoot! It honestly felt more like two girlfriends had come together for afternoon tea ~ except there happened to be a camera there. :)
Do you feel that doing the visionary work first changed the way you showed up for your photography session — or the way you now see yourself and what you’re creating?
Most definitely.
It solidified a vision that had been sitting in my mind for a long time but was sometimes clouded by self-doubt and those little questions of, Can I really do this? Is my vision too big?
I feel much clearer now about what I want to create and, perhaps more importantly, how I see myself within that future.
The vision work helped me move from simply having ideas and dreams to actually seeing a direction. There is still a journey ahead, of course, but now I feel that I know what I am walking towards.
Now that we’ve gone through the whole journey together, what has the experience given you? And what are you most excited to bring to life next?
OMG… where do I begin?!
I have started calling the entire experience “the whole Jen thing” because I honestly haven't experienced anything quite like it before.
When you first explained the process, I was curious because I had never seen a photographer approach a branding shoot this way. I deliberately didn't read too much or try to prepare myself for it because when I experience something new, I like to allow myself to experience the person's creation or process as they intended it, without too many expectations.
I am so glad I did.
The whole experience ~ the visualisation, seeing my vision brought to life, the photography itself and then sitting together and intentionally choosing the images that will represent me and my work ~ has given me so much clarity about who I am, what I want my business to become and, most importantly, why I want to create it.
I can finally say it proudly: I want to create a wellness oasis.
But my dream doesn't end there.
My bigger vision is to build a successful and meaningful business that can one day help fund something very close to my heart ~ a special project that brings care, connection and love to older people, while also creating opportunities for meaningful connection with children. There is something beautiful to me about those two generations having more space to give to and receive from one another.
That is the bigger dream behind the dream.
So I think what “the whole Jen thing” has ultimately given me is permission to stop keeping that vision quietly inside my head, to say it out loud, to see it in front of me ~ and now to start working towards making it real.
What’s Nourishing Me Right Now
After having the privilege of holding space for Hina through her vision and photography, this month I got to experience her beautiful work for myself.
I booked a massage with the intention of nourishing my body and nervous system, and it became so much more. Hina intuitively shared a few heartfelt messages with me that landed exactly where they needed to. I’ve taken them seriously ~ allowing myself even more rest, more space and permission to soften.
Sometimes nourishing ourselves isn’t about adding something more. It’s about allowing ourselves to receive.
Until Next Month
As I write these final words, I’m looking out my office window at our garden, where the most beautiful grevilleas are absolutely blooming ~ in the most incredible sunset shades of pink, lavender and magenta.
Magenta has always held something special for me. I’ve loved it since I was a little girl, and over the years it has become my own little spiritual sign ~ a colour I notice when I’m feeling deeply aligned, almost like a quiet reminder to trust myself, keep going and know I’m on the right path. It’s even found its way into my branding, which I absolutely love.
I wandered outside with my camera to photograph them, brought a few stems inside for our home and, while I was there, discovered my very first white cosmos growing in the garden, with another tiny bud beside her still waiting to bloom.
It felt like such a beautiful way to finish August. Like spring is already here.
Notice what’s blooming. Nourish what’s still becoming. Trust the little signs that remind you to keep going
Until next month.
