Forgive the cliché, but here is the truth. This summer I reached a point in my life where I was standing at a metaphorical crossroads, having trouble deciding which path to take. There were no handy road signs and they don’t draw maps for this sort of dilemma. I knew a Sat Nav couldn’t direct me when I didn’t know my destination. There wasn’t even a Hansel and Gretel trail of breadcrumbs to follow, which I could quite rightly expect after four years of studying Literature! There was nothing. Just me...and the crossroads...and Robert Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’. Then, of course, there was my own fear of making the wrong choice, because unless we travel all available paths, how do we know which is right? I felt I couldn’t afford to make the wrong choice. But, therein lies a positive: At least I had a choice, and it seems that how we respond to the events our choices trigger is what makes us individually human.
Dori and I discovered we were both standing at the same crossroads, in the same sort of 21st Century labyrinth, both wondering which road to take, which, despite the dilemma, was hugely comforting. I realised I wasn’t alone, and neither was she, despite our geographical distance. We’ve both survived a few fraught but rewarding years of study with The Open University and our original intention post-degree was to be ‘writing buddies’ – to support and challenge one another on the road to publication. Numerous email discussions and Skype meetings scheduled for writing turned into three (sometimes four) hour discussions about anything and everything. We talked of a bigger idea – of building an online community, a sort of hub for everything that concerns the 21st Century woman. But, here is a note to any men who might be reading: you are not barred and this isn’t in any way meant to be the ‘restricted section’. We envisage this being a meeting place, a sort of ‘gathering’ (No, not a coven!) of friends and kindred spirits, and initially it will be our universal journal for today’s woman.
We will be posting articles on life and health, style, culture, creativity, travel, and will build a reading group, a writing group, and a recipe section that will regularly demonstrate new recipes, from both Dori and I, complete with feedback and photos, whether good or bad in our ‘Hall of Fame’ and ‘Hall of Shame’ sections. There will be comedy in ‘Gigglebox’ because we all need to laugh (you might also see the recipe section!), videos, some shared music and you can visit our Sanctuary for all things related to ‘Health’ and the ‘Self’ – a restorative and peaceful place. We believe in expanding our horizons and beating the things that seem to block us, so we will be challenging ourselves periodically, and you can follow our progress and even tell us about your own challenges in the comments section. My personal challenge from January 1st 2014 is music based – I am going to learn to play the piano ‘properly’ instead of bashing out simple tunes by ear, and I’ll post updates and videos to chart my progress.
We can’t wait to hear from you in the ‘Comments’ section, and hope our ‘hub’ will not only draw you in but also interest, inspire and challenge you, becoming a place for information, connection and friendship. Although a ‘Labyrinth’ is usually seen as a place of confusion, which is how life gets sometimes, no one will be lost or alone in here!
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