This is the most beautiful piece of writing I've come across in a very very long time. How it has only 14 likes and is not being preached from the highest roof tops is beyond be. Justyna, your heart, your message is pure light, it is what I've been living, breathing, feeling and trying to form words around for months. I am utterly blown away, by it all. This is simply incredible. My deepest gratitude.
Dear Niki, as soon as I saw this note from you, it immediately made me cry. I am so moved by your words and how much you appreciated this piece of my writing. It means more than you can probably imagine! Thank you so so much, and welcome to the community! ❤️
Hi Justyna, I get it. I am with you in your message and your Substack 100% echoing you and championing your voice 🫶✨♥️ The words flooded more space than you can begin to know, I shared it to my Facebook 🙏 and will strive to deeply embody. I'm profoundly grateful to have found your work 🙌❤️
when my 14 year relationship ended (very, very badly), i stumbled across the poem Oremus. the sway of "rhythm underneath the rhythm and rhyme underneath the rhyme" would send tears floating down my face quickly and openly. it took a long time for me to recognize that despite being so cut open, what i longed for was some steadiness and autonomy; a sense of softness and light that could not be broken regardless of the ache. i wanted to know it was still worth it to pick up my scattered stones and build the altars. reading your beautiful piece this evening reminded me of how poignant and strong that pull is. i especially loved this offering: "Our hands are made for effort: of building, of holding, of nurturing." <3
I am really sorry to hear about your relationship coming to an end. While I don't know anything about you or whether you believe it was for the best, standing at the shore of loss is never an easy experience, and so, I hold you close to my heart.
I felt similarly when reading Oremus. As you say, "I wanted to know it was still worth it to pick up my scattered stones and build the altars." For myself, I especially wanted to know that all the difficulties I endured were for something—and that perhaps they can serve others as much as they served me, helping me to break open and sprout in the darkness of the night, long before the dawn.
I do believe, as I wrote in this essay, and I can feel it strongly, that there is a certain unbreakable softness and light deep within us that uphold us in testing times. I hope you can feel it too, and I hope that you're building your altar. ❤️
thank you kindly for making space and for your sweet words! i like your approach and the conviction you have on ever-growing goodness, even in these stoney places! i am learning to build again, albeit slowly. happy to have found your writing here this week! <3
hey there, I'm so sorry to hear about your difficult breakup, but it's beautiful how poetry helped you find solace.
"Oremus" sounds like it provided the steadiness and light you needed during that tough time. It's powerful how words can touch our hearts and help us heal.
I find that the idea of picking up scattered stones to build altars is such a moving metaphor for rebuilding and finding strength.
Thank you for sharing your experience—it's a reminder of how resilient we can be. Curious, how have you continued to find strength and healing in your journey?
thank you for your kindness! the altar metaphor is Padraig O Tauma's, and it's one of the most beautiful parts of the poem (it's what drew me to the stones and the pacing in this lovely piece as well!) the best answer to your last question is: i became a runner again for the first time since highschool. it helped me learn to breathe again (literally) and it continues to be a place where i can practice pushing back against my own darkness. the endorphins help too, of course! :) <3
Wow Justyna I am completely in love with your writing and everything about your newsletter. What beautiful definitions of love you provide and you link so many wonderful thinkers and ideas together. Not to mention your adorable dividers! Subscribing immediately :)
Daniela! Thank you so much for these kind words! Welcome to the community ❤️ I'm so happy that you enjoyed reading the essay and that you also appreciate the little stones I weave into the structure of my writing :)
Looking forward to hearing from you soon or in the future!
I really liked this idea of a universal love that connects us all. It's a hopeful way to think about the world, and it makes me believe that we can make a difference.
I’m so glad to hear this concept offers you hope, Mo!
The practical, hands-on aspect of love is, what I believe, its (and ours) greatest potential.
We all can probably see the difference between actions taken out of love and those taken out of fear or hatred. It’s not only about the outcome but also about the process. When we act through love, we grow, expand, and blossom; when we act through fear or negativity, we contract, wither, and become smaller.
Paradoxically, the ways in which we try to defend ourselves become the ways which make us need more and more defence. Love strips us bare, and that’s scary, but once we have nothing to hide, we no longer need to be courageous—it becomes the natural way of living.
Love this wonderful writing on various levels of love, so much in this rich piece. Offering a poem I wrote a while back which maybe speaks to this topic.
Thank you for your kind words ❤️ and thank you so much for sharing your poem with me! I love it, and I also read a few others of yours — looking forward to reading even more :)
Thank you for reading! I believe this can be a helpful reminder when we feel disappointed, naive, or foolish for giving ourselves to love. It certainly helps me. Remembering that this is our deepest nature — to offer and receive love — perhaps can ease the weight of it a little, especially in times of loss.
“...love alone bridges the impossible and the eternal...” So meaningful. In my faith, there is a saying: Now faith, hope, and love remain - but the greatest of these is love. It is the greatest for many reasons in this life; and it is the greatest, ultimately, because only love persists into eternity. 💕
Thank you, dear Sydney! I'm happy to hear that you resonated with it :) And thank you for sharing this beautiful saying!
I, too, believe that love is the greatest force, or quality, we are gifted in this life. It can build beautiful things or bring us close to destruction—yet, it never ceases to Nurture us. As such, I believe it indeed stretches into eternity, like a thread upon which individual lives are strung. It persists, upholding us, but is not dependent on us and our actions. It is truly the essence and manifestation of life, as Tolstoy wrote :)
this is particularly resonant: "We have the capacity to feel love for all humans, regardless of their actions, and still stand for the victims of those actions, doing what we can to prevent more suffering. One doesn’t, and I believe, shouldn’t, exclude the other."
This is the most beautiful piece of writing I've come across in a very very long time. How it has only 14 likes and is not being preached from the highest roof tops is beyond be. Justyna, your heart, your message is pure light, it is what I've been living, breathing, feeling and trying to form words around for months. I am utterly blown away, by it all. This is simply incredible. My deepest gratitude.
Dear Niki, as soon as I saw this note from you, it immediately made me cry. I am so moved by your words and how much you appreciated this piece of my writing. It means more than you can probably imagine! Thank you so so much, and welcome to the community! ❤️
Hi Justyna, I get it. I am with you in your message and your Substack 100% echoing you and championing your voice 🫶✨♥️ The words flooded more space than you can begin to know, I shared it to my Facebook 🙏 and will strive to deeply embody. I'm profoundly grateful to have found your work 🙌❤️
Thank you so much for your support and for opening up to this message! I hope it can nurture you ❤️
Really. It's so good.
Thank you so much!
🤍
It needs to be published in mass and spread worldwide🌏❤️🔥🙏
You're too kind, Niki! Thank you ❤️
when my 14 year relationship ended (very, very badly), i stumbled across the poem Oremus. the sway of "rhythm underneath the rhythm and rhyme underneath the rhyme" would send tears floating down my face quickly and openly. it took a long time for me to recognize that despite being so cut open, what i longed for was some steadiness and autonomy; a sense of softness and light that could not be broken regardless of the ache. i wanted to know it was still worth it to pick up my scattered stones and build the altars. reading your beautiful piece this evening reminded me of how poignant and strong that pull is. i especially loved this offering: "Our hands are made for effort: of building, of holding, of nurturing." <3
I am really sorry to hear about your relationship coming to an end. While I don't know anything about you or whether you believe it was for the best, standing at the shore of loss is never an easy experience, and so, I hold you close to my heart.
I felt similarly when reading Oremus. As you say, "I wanted to know it was still worth it to pick up my scattered stones and build the altars." For myself, I especially wanted to know that all the difficulties I endured were for something—and that perhaps they can serve others as much as they served me, helping me to break open and sprout in the darkness of the night, long before the dawn.
I do believe, as I wrote in this essay, and I can feel it strongly, that there is a certain unbreakable softness and light deep within us that uphold us in testing times. I hope you can feel it too, and I hope that you're building your altar. ❤️
thank you kindly for making space and for your sweet words! i like your approach and the conviction you have on ever-growing goodness, even in these stoney places! i am learning to build again, albeit slowly. happy to have found your writing here this week! <3
Happy to have you here as well! ❤️ Please take care and I'm looking forward to our future chats :)
hey there, I'm so sorry to hear about your difficult breakup, but it's beautiful how poetry helped you find solace.
"Oremus" sounds like it provided the steadiness and light you needed during that tough time. It's powerful how words can touch our hearts and help us heal.
I find that the idea of picking up scattered stones to build altars is such a moving metaphor for rebuilding and finding strength.
Thank you for sharing your experience—it's a reminder of how resilient we can be. Curious, how have you continued to find strength and healing in your journey?
thank you for your kindness! the altar metaphor is Padraig O Tauma's, and it's one of the most beautiful parts of the poem (it's what drew me to the stones and the pacing in this lovely piece as well!) the best answer to your last question is: i became a runner again for the first time since highschool. it helped me learn to breathe again (literally) and it continues to be a place where i can practice pushing back against my own darkness. the endorphins help too, of course! :) <3
Oh! I am also getting back to running now :) Same motivation!
yes! i love that! <3
Wow Justyna I am completely in love with your writing and everything about your newsletter. What beautiful definitions of love you provide and you link so many wonderful thinkers and ideas together. Not to mention your adorable dividers! Subscribing immediately :)
Daniela! Thank you so much for these kind words! Welcome to the community ❤️ I'm so happy that you enjoyed reading the essay and that you also appreciate the little stones I weave into the structure of my writing :)
Looking forward to hearing from you soon or in the future!
I really liked this idea of a universal love that connects us all. It's a hopeful way to think about the world, and it makes me believe that we can make a difference.
I’m so glad to hear this concept offers you hope, Mo!
The practical, hands-on aspect of love is, what I believe, its (and ours) greatest potential.
We all can probably see the difference between actions taken out of love and those taken out of fear or hatred. It’s not only about the outcome but also about the process. When we act through love, we grow, expand, and blossom; when we act through fear or negativity, we contract, wither, and become smaller.
Paradoxically, the ways in which we try to defend ourselves become the ways which make us need more and more defence. Love strips us bare, and that’s scary, but once we have nothing to hide, we no longer need to be courageous—it becomes the natural way of living.
Love this wonderful writing on various levels of love, so much in this rich piece. Offering a poem I wrote a while back which maybe speaks to this topic.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theseainme/p/dare-day?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=46rss
Thank you for your kind words ❤️ and thank you so much for sharing your poem with me! I love it, and I also read a few others of yours — looking forward to reading even more :)
That's lovely to hear!
Beautiful! I have subscribed 🌿🌿
Thank you! And welcome! :) I hope you will feel at home here
“We love because our hearts are destined to love.” Indeed
Thank you for reading! I believe this can be a helpful reminder when we feel disappointed, naive, or foolish for giving ourselves to love. It certainly helps me. Remembering that this is our deepest nature — to offer and receive love — perhaps can ease the weight of it a little, especially in times of loss.
Wonderful Justyna, you are Love.
You ask a question... I don't have answers..
who can transform Love?
Keep being what you are 🙏 ❤️
Thank you so much! ❤️
I also subscribed when I read this. It is so resonant ❤️
Welcome to the community, Michelle! :) Thank you for joining us ❤️
What a beautiful exploration of love, Justyna!
“...love alone bridges the impossible and the eternal...” So meaningful. In my faith, there is a saying: Now faith, hope, and love remain - but the greatest of these is love. It is the greatest for many reasons in this life; and it is the greatest, ultimately, because only love persists into eternity. 💕
Thank you, dear Sydney! I'm happy to hear that you resonated with it :) And thank you for sharing this beautiful saying!
I, too, believe that love is the greatest force, or quality, we are gifted in this life. It can build beautiful things or bring us close to destruction—yet, it never ceases to Nurture us. As such, I believe it indeed stretches into eternity, like a thread upon which individual lives are strung. It persists, upholding us, but is not dependent on us and our actions. It is truly the essence and manifestation of life, as Tolstoy wrote :)
What a beautiful, beautiful essay, Justyna! Thank you for this.
Thank You, Patricia, for taking the time to read and for opening up to receive it :)
dear justyna,
thank you for this piece. i love it!
this is particularly resonant: "We have the capacity to feel love for all humans, regardless of their actions, and still stand for the victims of those actions, doing what we can to prevent more suffering. One doesn’t, and I believe, shouldn’t, exclude the other."
love and thanks,
myq
Dear Myq,
so happy you enjoyed reading and resonated with the topic :)
Lots of love
Justyna