The permission slip*

You are allowed to unfollow the people who make you feel bad,
the ones who curate their lives like interior design magazines,
whose day never seems to be filled with the
dirty dishes of your reality.

You are allowed to unfollow the old school friend
who’s busy repopulating the world
while you wonder if you’ll ever find love again and
listen to the sound of your ovaries going mouldy.

You are allowed to ignore the quick-fix merchants who
offer ten reasons why your life doesn’t work
and then tell you how to fix it
if you buy their program today! Click here!

You are allowed to unsubscribe from the emails that
clutter your inbox. To ignore the teleseminars
and free trainings and video secrets and offerings
that never seem to teach you anything new.

You are allowed to boycott the blogs that trigger
the shit out of you. You know the ones.

Instead, you are allowed to sink back into your
own wise counsel. To make the space for your own
desires and dreams to dance and delight,
no longer distracted by the comparisons and competitions.

You are allowed to be still.
To be quiet.
To just be.

* wrote this for me… thought you might appreciate it too.

109 responses
  1. kat

    longtime reader, first time commenter here…just had to say, this was EXACTLY what i needed to hear today! thank you for sharing it. xo

  2. Sabine

    It’s perfect! Thank you! :)

  3. jackie

    Love this – thank you!

  4. Suzie Lambert

    Amen

  5. Amy

    Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you for this reminder.

    Amy <3

  6. Catalina

    Thank you! perfect! (just thinking about that precisely! synchronicity?)

    and beautiful picture!

  7. katrina

    :)

  8. justine Gordon

    how funny, I was just looking at most of the above this morning wondering why I keep doing it and also that one that really triggers!! thanks so much

  9. Debbie

    Thank you Susannah, for being you and being here for us.

  10. sperlygirl

    love this…needed this – grazie mille! :)

  11. Carol Nunan

    Oh thank you so much for the reminder. I recently feel like I’m drowning in the stuff.

  12. Sherry

    You can’t see me, but I’m standing on my chair…and I’ve got my arms raised in the air and I’m waving them about as if I had maracas or pom poms and I’m saying out loud “sing it sister” — OH YEAH!!!!!!

  13. Laura Smith

    this spoke to me today, too.

  14. Jessica Brogan

    think i’ll be printing this one out and double-sided taping it to my office wall. this is priceless.

  15. Sandie Cottee

    Absolutely! Thank you for the reminder Susannah x

  16. Rhianne

    Thanks Susannah!

  17. Veronica Roth

    So true. Unplugged lately and picked up my oils, brushes, and closed the door to my studio. Feels much better. :)

  18. Hello Sandwich

    love this!
    ha ha!
    x

  19. Carin

    Thank you! Perfect synchronicity! I needed that today!

  20. Justine

    Thank you for sharing – I def needed this – the past few weeks have just felt like “blech” hah. <3

  21. Cristen

    Thank you for sharing this with us today. I needed to read these words today of all days.

  22. Nicola Dent

    Thank you. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one. Glad to know I am not alone. xxx

  23. Jeanne

    Thanks for this reminder that I have permission to take care of myself. :)

  24. barbara

    thankyou…. :-)
    it is perfect for me!

  25. Kristin Noelle

    1000 yeses. And more.

  26. L.McG.-E.

    So very true. Thank you for stating it.

  27. Kirsten

    Well said and thank you. i needed to hear this today after i sank back and did nothing productive this past weekend and driving to work i felt the heaviness of beating myself up for not doing enough.

  28. Tina Tierson

    Oh Susannah, thank you so much! I really needed this, especially today! Love and hugs!

  29. d smith kaich jones

    god, i needed to hear this written out loud. thank you. yes.

  30. Cristina Dalla Valentina

    Thanks for sharing: it is just I needed today!

  31. ilaria

    Beatiful words!!!
    Thanks for sharing!!!
    Whenever I read your blog I always find the exact words I needed to ear in that special moment…
    thanks!!!

  32. Zary

    It´s perfect for me today!!! and for life too!!

  33. teryll sacks

    Preach it sista!
    Perfect timing!
    Thanks for sharing.

  34. Kerstin

    Thanks for keeping it real. Always. xo

  35. TL

    You have echoed the words in my heart, thankyou for providing just what I needed at just the right time.

  36. Michelle Barry Franco

    whispering yes. So very yes. Thank you for saying this.

  37. Alicia

    Thanks for the permission slip… about to go on a field trip :)

  38. Michele

    Thank you x

  39. Holly

    Thank you, Susannah! I needed this! xo

  40. Patti L

    Love it…agreed. Sounds like a mantra I would repeat to myself in hard times. Hope you find peace

  41. Caroline

    Oh yes…needed to read this!!!

  42. Hannah Marcotti

    Love you.

  43. Cindy

    Thank you for showing me how to simplify and get back to me. Bless you

  44. La plume et la page

    I appreciate it too. Thanks for this post Susannah! I agree with you!

  45. Judy Schwartz Haley

    I love this.

  46. Lissa @ lafcustomdesigns

    Susannah, this is perfect. I have cleared many of these “allowances” over time only to clutter up my life with them again. Thanks for the reminder.

  47. xanthe

    Really ace. thanks. x.

  48. Tara@Aquamarine

    I loved this; maybe partly because I wrote a very similar poem a while ago and at the end explained that I needed permission that day, but it struck a chord for others too. Not to be self-aggrandisey, but it’s here if you’re interested: http://taraleaver.com/2011/07/you-dont-have-to/
    :)
    I don’t think we can ever be reminded of this too often.

  49. Christina Masterman

    Susannah – really appreciate this loving reminder. Straight from the heart, to the heart. You are an inspiration…and I am going to stop feeling guilty at not being ‘on top of everything’! Urghh…xx

  50. Gioia

    This is sooo true and beautiful. And still, I won’t unfollow you. ;-)

  51. An

    Yesss! Love this!

  52. Sara

    Me too! Long time reader, owner of your latest book and first time commenter! So got that, I could almost have written it myself had I had the gumption to put pen to paper or the talent to be honest. Thank you from my heart :-)

  53. Maya

    Susannah,
    This post could not have arrived in my stream at a better time. Read it first thing this morning….oct 1st and the day I announce some big changes on my blog. Woohooo! Perfect, divine timing at it’s best. Thank you for sharing yourself the way that you do.
    ~maya ox

  54. Victoria

    This is perfect. Something I needed to read today.

  55. Carrie Monroe O'Keefe

    Fabulous!!! Fabulous advice!

  56. Jennifer

    Beautiful, wise words. Thank you.

  57. scamp (aka Shirley)

    Oh, YES! Thank you! Like so many others, this was perfect for me right now.

  58. Glenda Childers

    brilliant reminder.

  59. Jet Harrington

    Yes. Thank you. With so many yeses. Yesses? Yes. Love.

  60. Ashley

    A. Men.

  61. Bonnie J. James

    love love love this. and needed it desperately. thanks for writing it for the both of us. <3

  62. Stacy ~ Sweet Life Farm

    Put to paper what I have been sensing is true for me too. Love your photo!

  63. laurie b

    this could be the statement for the times we are in, the lives we live. good for you, giving us the “permission” we may not realize we are entitled to. thank you! :-)

  64. Melody

    Your words are confirmation of my recent feelings, thoughts. Thank you, sweetly. Printing this and acting upon it.

  65. Carola Bartz

    YES !!!

  66. Jade Sheldon

    I needed to read this today. Thank you.

  67. suzie

    I’ll take one of those slips. Thanks.

  68. Fiona

    Strong powerful words.

  69. Michele

    Thank you…

  70. Vicki

    Thank you so much, I needed this today. I seem to get myself sucked up into online “creativity” courses that end up taking me no where, stuff I already know, no new insights and lacking direction – very sad. How can one find good online classes that don’t waste your money?

  71. Lynne

    Love, Love, Love…for this; to you, for being authentically you…shining brightly among the pretenders.

  72. susannah

    Gosh, that’s the big question — personally i look for the following:

    1. glowing testimonials from past students – gives me a good idea of what i might get out of the course
    2. word-of-mouth recommendations (eg. from friends or bloggers i respect you who might have written about a course they took and enjoyed)
    3. spend some time reading the course creator’s blog — hopefully it’ll give you a taste of their teaching style and knowledge
    4. read the course outline carefully to be absolutely clear on what the course will contain, to make sure it’s right for you

    hope that helps! x

  73. MistyDawn

    Oh wow!!! You say you wrote this for your, but I think you wrote it for me too! This is outstanding!

  74. Veronica

    Thanks, I needed this today Susannah. I am halfway thru “This I Know” and you just keep confirming alot of things for me. There is a consistency in these messages I keep getting. I’m listening now.

  75. Effy

    Ohhhhhhh, yes. This. Needed this.

  76. Shannon

    And what great reminders, indead. Thank you. And LOVE that photograph.

  77. Joanna Colbert

    Beautiful, and so necessary. Thank you.

  78. Lisa | Renovating Italy

    refreshing and thank you, I only a few weeks ago sorted my email and did just this and it’s wonderful x

    grazie lisa x

  79. Jessie

    Thanks for sharing! I needed that!! :)

  80. kimberly

    Funny how sometimes we just need someone to give us permission. Thanks for giving me permission to cut out some things today.

  81. Gerri Smalley

    Say it, Sista!!

  82. Rani Primmer - Jagged Touch Studio

    Love to hear this! Thank you

  83. Emily

    Thank you. Exactly right.

  84. Jenn Gibson

    This helps, so much. I’ve been having a hard time the last few months and this helps a lot, Susannah. xx

  85. Dogmatix

    Thanks for sharing…..definately worth being reminded of this

  86. Orange Whimsy

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you… I needed to hear this in a big way!

  87. amelia Critchlow

    I’m still a bit overwhelmed with what’s shared on facebook (but maybe I share too much on my blog!) and yes, there are those bloggers who I really want to sit down with and interview them with my first question being ‘how do you DO it?’ – it seems to defy possibility . . .

    And then I have the worry too of people unsubscribing from my own mailing list, but I guess that’s life and delving in to the whole array of fabric that makes up life is a good thing if I can get it in perspective that is :)

    Hope you are well x

  88. Kelly Connor-Sunrose

    Thank you.
    JUST PERFECT.

  89. keishua

    perfectly said. thanks for the reminder.

  90. erica

    WOW. thank you for the permission.

    recently, i’ve been connecting with like minded, hearted, spirited sisters who share their RAW, real, ‘dirty dishes’ with me and it’s been so unbelievably refreshing.

    so delighted to be your newest follower <3

  91. Dyan

    Bless you to bits. I needed to hear this for a long time now.

  92. RitaJC

    W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L!

    Thank you so much for sharing!

  93. S H

    Lovely and perfect!

  94. Irma P.

    Amen sister! I can so relate!
    Come every fall with the cooling weather I turn inward to search for that which brings my soul comfort. Knowing what to eliminate is as important – perhaps even more so – than knowing what to keep.

  95. Two

    Love, love, love this. So spot on! Thanks for sharing <3

  96. melindamelou @ Stupendous Joy

    Thank you Susannah! Ahhhh, feeling lighter already. Thanks for the reminder lovely. x

  97. Mary Sara P.

    Love this. You are a mind reader – just what I needed to hear. Thank you!

  98. phyllis

    This is very liberating, sometimes all the talk, the endless explanations the need for others to hear, is all too much. When all we need is the quietness to let our own small voice come through. Do not be pressured to talk when quietness is needed. Find quietness and a space to listen to your own small voice before replying.

  99. Paula

    Ahh, I think I just got a huge breath of fresh air! Thank you!

  100. Erica

    These words brought tears to my eyes… and a big wholehearted yes to all of them… thank you for bringing peace to my heart today…

Comments are closed.