At this point in my life, as I have stepped over the threshold of 50 years, I find myself in a completely new stage of my life. 

I am a women’s circle facilitator, holding space for women as they take time out to rest, recharge and listen to their inner voice.

Alongside this, I am also a home educating mama to my 11-year-old daughter and over those early parenting years, whilst embracing this role, I also felt like I had really lost sight of who I was. I felt like I was getting smaller and smaller, losing my voice and my confidence. 

I had completely redefined my life to become a stay-at-home mama at 40 years old and this took some adjustment after coming from all-consuming leadership roles in the corporate world. In those roles, it was easy to define ‘who I was’ through the job that I did. I spent the first few years of motherhood releasing the old version of who I was and then working on accepting the archetypal role of ‘Mother’ plus an entirely new version of how I fitted into the world and my life as a whole.

Once Poppy was around 7 years old (no surprise here, we love a 7-year cycle!) I was feeling in a strange liminal space of wanting to start something new. I was ready for a new part of my life to open up, and yet, had no idea what it was going to be. I just had to surrender and understand it would unfold when it was ready. I continued to do the inner work and be patient! I tuned into the moon cycles and my body’s own cyclical nature more and more as I peeled back more layers, discovering what was underneath.

During a beautiful retreat in March 2022, as part of a journaling session I remembered an old purpose statement that I had created many years before. It was… ‘To love and connect with people as they journey into self-discovery and growth’. This felt very congruent with my time in leadership when I used my coaching skills to support and develop team members under my care. It was such an important part of my role and for me in life in general. So, the statement resonated but never felt truly ‘heart-led’. 

As I wrote this down in my journal and pondered it, I had a clear moment of understanding, I crossed out ‘people’ and replaced it with ‘women’. With this one small action I experienced a full body response, with a wave of energy and pure knowing moving through me. I needed to work with women! It was so clear to me in that moment. I still did not know quite how this would manifest but I knew this was the key to moving forward on my path.

So, whilst my statement has morphed slightly over time, my core value is still the same ‘I am here to love and connect with women as they journey into self-discovery and growth’. This statement now is fully heart-led and the work I have done over the years (I include the women I have worked with in the corporate world) has been both nourishing and rewarding on a soul level. It makes my heart sing to create these spaces that give permission and allow women to open up and explore more of who they are. It is such a joy.

I founded The Wild Oak Gatherings in May 2022, just after the retreat, and have been holding spaces at each turn of the wheel of the year since then. Each one is focused on rest and connection and the deep understanding that when we sit in circle, we connect with the part of us that has done this thousands of times before, through generations, and as the women that came before us. It is only in modern times, in this blink of an eye in earth history that we have partly forgotten this sacred ceremony. It is time for us all to remember and be part of the rekindling of this deep history of the gathering of womenfolk.