Goodmorning! Bonjour!
In four days’ time, I will have been here for a full year. My French anniversary is the 31st of March… and I can hardly believe I’m even writing that sentence.
A whole year.
A whole, life-altering, what-on-earth-just-happened kind of year.
Because somehow—quite quickly, and with a surprising amount of ease—I moved country. On my own. Bought a house. Set up my energy practice from home. Started a freelance role with Wheeler Property (you couldn’t make it up!) Joined the committee of our local Bon Coeur charity. Became part of a rowing team. Even spent a couple of months supporting a home care team, meeting the loveliest people along the way (clients and colleagues).
When I write it all down like that, it does sound rather a lot… doesn’t it?
And that’s exactly why it felt important to document this year. To pause and really acknowledge it.
Because despite living it, I still catch myself. I’ll be walking down my beautiful staircase… or sitting in my kitchen, gazing out at the view… and I have one of those moments where I almost have to pinch myself.
Is this actually my life?
And then I remember—oh yes. It is.
I’m here. In France. Creating a life that is entirely mine.
Has it all been easy? In many ways, yes. But of course, there have been challenges. There have been moments well outside my comfort zone. But I’ve navigated them, as I always do.
I think that’s one of the quieter gifts of getting older—you know yourself. You trust your resilience because you’ve lived it. You don’t need to guess whether you’ll cope… you know you will, it’s a given.
And still, when you make bold decisions, there are ripples.
The butterfly effect has been in full force this year. The choices I’ve made
haven’t just affected me—they’ve moved through other areas of life, touching
people and situations in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
And that’s life, isn’t it?
Messy, magical, expansive… and occasionally a little bit “oh, this is bigger than I
expected.”
Alongside all of this, I’ve also been part of a Power of 8 group, which continues to be a special part of my week. We meet online, from different corners of
Europe, coming together to hold intentions for others.
And here’s the beautiful thing—we don’t just give. We receive.
Every single one of us has experienced shifts. Real, tangible, sometimes quite profound changes in our own lives.
There’s something incredibly powerful about the way we work. We hold three separate intentions each time, and afterwards we share what we experienced. Some of us see things vividly, others sense or simply know. And yet, so often our experiences overlap—echoing each other in ways that feel both comforting and a little bit magical.
It does makeit more fun, if nothing else. But it also feels deeply affirming.
We all come from different backgrounds. We have all extensively studied and practice various complementary practices, and some bring medical experience too. But more than anything, we are simply a committed, connected group of people who show up—consistently, openly, and with genuine care.
And in doing that, our lives have shifted.
In fact, over the past year, four of us have left our jobs and taken rather significant leaps of faith.
Which says a lot, really.
Because one of the core ideas behind the Power of 8 is that when you hold space for others, something moves within you too. That giving and receiving are not separate—they are part of the same flow.
And we are very much living proof of that.
There’s a natural rhythm to it now. An ebb and flow. A sense of offering, and being offered to in return. Holding, and being held.
And somewhere in that rhythm, things begin to shift. To open. To expand.
And woven into my week in a different, but equally special way, is my yoga class with the wonderful Sylvie, who has created such a beautiful community of aligned souls. It’s a space that feels deeply nurturing and restorative… and, just as importantly, one where we have a lot of fun too.
Just like this past year.
So here I am—almost one year in. Still often surprised. Still sometimes doing a double take. Still learning, stretching, receiving and sometimes messing things up.
And very much looking forward to what unfolds next.
Because if this year has taught me anything, it’s this:
When you say yes to something bigger than you, life has a rather wonderful way of meeting you there.