Sunday Saves #4`
Hello friends, and long time no talk. Wow, what a heavy couple of weeks it’s been. Our world has seen such sadness and pain. *Sigh*
As we look beyond the madness, there are still little glimmers in the world. I’m happy to be back and sharing with you.
There has been a lot of work this week with my Substack. You may notice this newsletter has a new name when you receive it. I wanted to title it rather than have it be Jennie Bennett’s Subtack. I went with The Garden. First and foremost, as you get to know me on this platform, you will discover that I LOVE gardening. It’s therapeutic for me. Something about it brings me calm. I get lost in it. I’m one of those weirdos who enjoys mowing the lawn. I go to friends’ and families’ homes and deadhead their plants, I’m sorry, not sorry, it’s a bad habit.
I came across this definition of the garden metaphor in psychology from Ness Labs blog: “The garden metaphor is particularly apt: taking care of your mind involves cultivating your curiosity (the seeds), growing your knowledge (the trees), and producing new thoughts (the fruits). On the surface, it's a repetitive process. You need consistency and patience.” I was sold. I can relate so much to this, and this wording relates so much to this season in my life. So was created The Garden Substack written by Jennie Bennett. In my logo, you will see illustrations of seeds, a tree, and fruits.
I have a part-time job as a wedding photographer. Being a photographer, I see the world and color in different ways. Color theory in the sense of my logo came to mind, and often, when you first think of a garden, you think or see green. The color green can be a relaxing color, symbolizing growth, safety, hope, generosity, balance, health, harmony, encouragement, and revitalization. The hunterlab.com states, “Green is the color of life, reflected in nature as a sign of renewal.” Naming my Substack, The Garden seemed like the obvious choice.
I lost my sister in April; she was 43 with a family of her own. This was so sudden and something I am still processing. If you know anything about grief, you know you may always be processing the loss. On October 10th of 2021, I discovered I am an NPE (not-paretent expected), which is another sense of loss in a whole other way. So, in a vast sense, my writing of this newsletter is a way of processing and sharing for me. In many ways, I’m actively going through all of those descriptions and definitions above. I’m taking care of my mind, which involves cultivating my curiosity (the seeds), actively growing my knowledge (the trees), and producing new thoughts (the fruits). You may be going through something similar. I hope this newsletter brings you joy, comfort, and knowledge. If it helps just one of you, that’s amazing.
I’ve also made my Substack reader-supported; there will always be posts for free subscribers, but some posts will only be for paid subscribers. This is one step closer to me writing a book someday, and whether you are a free subscriber or paid, I am so glad you’re here, and thank You SO Much for your support.
Now, let’s get to my Sunday Saves:
This is a funny I discovered on IG this week: Swiftie funnies.
What Happened to Empathy: I found this article to be so thought-provoking. It’s really good. I encourage you to read it.
This was on the Today Show: The Impact of Screen Time on Kids, What’s at Stake…
What would you do if your kids did this?
Animal Lovers: Special moments with his favorite toys.
Join my chat here: I’ve started a chat on Substack. This is a way for me to get to know you. I’d love it if you’d introduce yourself.
Is anyone obsessed with Orange Theory? This week, we start Hell Week (Our Halloween-themed workouts), which ends on Halloween. Are you ready?? It’s a week of hard workouts and fun themes, but we have such a great community at my location. Here’s an example in the photo below.
This is a great article in case you want to know a little more about this platform I’m using. Learn more about Substack Notes, Chats, and Threads.
I hope you have been enjoying the fall season. Can you believe it’s almost Halloween? We went to a pumpkin patch this week and enjoyed the fall colors. Fall soccer season has been unusually warm this year but gorgeous.
This is from my hometown of Albuquerque, NM. The first two weeks of October are The International Balloon Fiesta. Here is a Reel to see the fun.
I love music, and the band Need to Breathe. As we head into a new week, I will leave you with a lyric from one of their songs. In their song Garden, they have a lyric that says, “Let the songs I sing bring joy to you, let the words I say confess my love, let the notes I choose be your favorite tune, and Father let my heart be after you,” Listen to it here.
Part 2 of my NPE story is coming to you this week; thank you for being here, friends.
-Jennie