*We aim to aspire to inspire as we chat to others, picking their brains, exploring their gifts and practices.
All posts are raw & unedited because f**k none of us are perfect & it is time to celebrate that - I'm here for the honest & real, you?
Who are you?
My name is Jane and I am a writer and founder of SLOW journal. An independent magazine based on the East Coast of Australia. But really, I am also a mum and wife sitting here having a very human experience.
What sets your soul on fire?
Any time when I go outside and take a moment to marvel at the sky! This morning it was just after 6am and I went out to the garden and looked up at the sky and that big old full moon was up there, shining bright watching down on me. I find it amazing. It is so easy to get caught up in the mundane or the routine of life on earth. But if you can remind yourself on a daily basis that this is all temporary, it shifts your gaze to see how bloody wild and extraordinary this all is. This whole experience. So wild!
How do you share your gift with others?
One of the things I have always asked for, is to have a life where I can earn a living just by ‘being me’. And currently this looks like being a creative human where I write stories, take photographs, write books and encourage others to slow down, to live simply and whole heartedly. We are so lucky these days where a ‘career’ can shapeshift across various mediums and really be whatever you can dream. Beyond the tangible stuff like writing or taking pretty photos for ethical brands, I like to think my gift is to be genuine. To just encourage and support people to be good humans and embrace their own genuine experience, no matter how much ‘mess’ it involves. It is all part of the show!
When has been a time in your life you felt defeated?
How did you overcome this?
Oh man. This has been a common theme over the past few years. I have 2 daughters who have just turned 4 and 6 years old. You might get to a point in your life where you are comfortable with who you are, you think you know yourself. Then you have kids. And then they grow and evolve and you bloody realize they are not yours to ‘keep’. They are in fact having their own human experience just like you and your role here is to guide them as best as you can. And it’s terrifying, because really I’m still just a kid inside wondering who put me in charge of keeping these two other humans alive and making sure they don’t end up in jail. haha
They challenge you. They teach you. They bring out the best and worst in you. They push you to a breaking point and dissolve you and make you delve even deeper into figuring out who you are and how you can let go let go let go. Being a mum is both the most rewarding and most challenging role I have ever had to play, probably because I have so much invested in it. I want to be a good mum. But then over something I think is so silly and insignificant my daughter will say “I hate you”. And I dissolve like a flaky croissant wondering how my baby became such a fierce little character. And the idea of ever losing one of them, or seeing them hurt or lonely or scared is such a difficult thing to process. But you realize they are actually the teacher. And it has taken me so much further into self enquiry and non attachment and having to have faith in the bigger picture. So it becomes this process of picking up these feelings of uncertainty, and worry and anxiety. Then every day putting them back down. And taking a big breath. And on we go.
What do you wish you could have told your teenage self?
So simply. “You don’t need to be cool”. Cool is cold. Be warm. Always warm.
Where do you pull inspiration from?
Funnily enough, my inspiration for starting SLOW journal came while I was vacuuming the lounge room floor. I know, wild huh? Haha
I remember the exact spot I was vacuuming while this idea seemed to jump into my brain, and I, with no experience in journalism or design or writing just decided I HAVE TO write a magazine. Its its bloody crazy because I so often feel like a fraud and people who have so much more experience than me come and send me their resume with their qualifications and years of experience and ask if they can write for me. And it blows my mind. And i’m here googling correct grammar and how to spell words.
But in a way I think the lack of formal experience has allowed me to create something so authentic and out of the box, because I don’t follow all the rules. I think I can do whatever I want so I just go with the flow. And in return I am connected to an extraordinary community of contributors who lend their own expertise, creativity and life experience. And what we end up with is a journal with inspiring stories and artworks and real life stuff that doesn't really follow the ‘trend’.
So inspiration… she comes from everything. Maybe it’s a picture I saw, or something in nature, but mostly it’s just a thought that pops into my head while doing the housework haha.