The Story Behind The Modern Gentlewoman
Like things that are meant to be, The Modern Gentlewoman has sort of fallen perfectly into place. It’s almost as if it had always existed, somewhere within the void of space and time, created by a divine hand, and I was simply the vessel through which it took form and came into existence in our world!
Not that I seemed to be the most suitable nor skillful vessel, and at times I have plain dragged my feet because I doubted myself. I am not the most talented or the best business woman, but in the messiness of life I’ve got more heart and passion than one person ever needed; it was into my hands that this thing has come to be given, so I honor that. Here I sit, trying to form this super duper ordinary story into words. It seems like anything truly valuable is has a bit of a messy history and full of twists and turns. This is no different.
First, I don’t think I can get around it - the history of me.
It’s much too long a story to share here and truly I’m not sure if I’m ready to divulge all the gritty details anyways. It suffices to say this: All of the things that have taken place seem to have prepared me, and all that I have gained seems to have culminated to serve this purpose, here.
Throughout the years people have said: “the things that happened are incredibly, but maybe you’ll be able to share that and help people”. I have always resisted the idea. The thought of allowing those parts of life to continue into my future, to let them have a place in fresh and new beginnings, didn’t sound good, not at all. I wanted to close that chapter and leave it all behind, like a hazy dream or a thing lived out by another person in history that was no more than a story. Now, things all seem to be falling into place, making sense. I don’t need to share the details, not here, not now, but I need to share the good fruit that have come out of it with me, things that can enrich the lives of others. Now, there’s more purpose to the pain - it has blossomed into something beautiful. For without those things, I could never be here. I’ve left them behind, but they were good for something - they have enabled me to stand here now! Friend, I am so excited to be here! This mission lights up my soul! I dream about this space throughout the day, or at night when I lie awake, or when I’m in conversation with beautiful people, or reading powerful books or tending my garden!
History of The Modern Gentlewoman:
Now, Here is how this blog formed and became known to me.
I knew that if any of this was really, truly, destined to exist, the name for it would have to just dawn on me, unexpectedly. I’d tried for hours to drum one up, but nothing had felt right. A name is very important, it should signify what an organization is all about. It should be fun, something you can be creative around, it should be memorable and it should be pretty. That’s a tall order. Even more difficult than being inspired for a name was that when it did hit, domain name would be available! One day, as I was folding fresh laundry, it just came into my mind: The Modern Gentlewoman. I knew right away it perfectly represented all that I wanted to encompass. I instantly checked to domain name, and in that moment, I knew this space would exist. It was available! I bought it. But you see, I was not as bold as I’d like to say, I was nervous. I believed mightily in the idea, but not so mightily in myself to execute it. So there it sat for a full year, as I dreamed often about what I would create and what it could become, and yet it became nothing. I wrote often for it, as a thought would come flying into my mind. I knew, like all inspiration, it was not really mine to keep, but mine to make use of before it left me yet again, and I had to take action to be left with it’s result.
It was more than just a year though, that this space was in the making. I have dreamed of it for many years. The dream has been molded, shifted, and shaped with the architect of time.
The Modern Gentlewoman was inspired by a certain heaviness I felt. The best thing that you can do with sadness is to let it inspire you to create something beautiful. Beauty is brave, because it is the opposite of sadness and decay, it is life and hope incarnate.
Here’s how the heaviness crept in. All the spaces I encountered online were well intentioned and pretty, but left me feeling depleted, discouraged, unconfident in myself, and my mood a shade darker. To put it simply, I felt bad after spending time most places online. My eyes and my heart craved the beauty, but when I connected the strong heavy feeling in my soul and mood to the time I spent online, and after doing some research scientifically confirming what I already felt, I almost completely stopped for about half a year. During this time is when the sparkle of inspiration grew! The reality is that the online world is a very real and present part of our everyday lives that we can’t wish away or ignore. There is some good there indeed. But what if I could take the goodness and genius-ness of it - the beauty of the connectedness, the ability to reach all over the world, to be positively present in daily life, to bring beauty, inspiration, and encouragement, to combine modern beauty with timeless wisdom - and create a space that could rejuvenate and nourish the heart and soul of womankind! A space that could truly empower women to craft their best life from scratch! That could be a companion and encourager and supporter for women in their ordinary lives! Viola! The Modern Gentlewoman!
