June 2026 Newsletter
I’m not gonna lie. I’m knackered.
And how is Midsummer already? June hasn’t even been downloaded yet. There seems to have been a glitch in the system and we’ve been given October instead.
That said, summer is the time for showing yourself off, treating yourself, rewarding yourself for getting to this part of the year. It’s time to have fun and feel good about yourself. And if, like me, you have to have a bit of a rest first, then go for it! It’s all part of the process of loving yourself the way you love the people around you. Pour yourself a mug of something soothing. Then hit the sofa/lawn/whatever appeals. You deserve it!
Fight Fascists: Defy Categorisation
It’s been a slightly scary time for black and brown people the last month or so. The riots in Belfast and the demonstrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh have meant that people like me have been asked to stay at home for their own safety. It’s not something I ever thought I’d experience in my lifetime, but it feels like it’s everywhere now.
I was given the opportunity to work with an organisation called Pass The Mic, which seeks to elevate the voices of women who look like me in the mainstream press (cos let’s face it, they’re not doing much reporting on the guy who attacked five Muslims last week, and I still haven’t seen any press about the black guy who was murdered outside a Belfast department store in a manner similar to George Floyd two months ago).
I wrote a deeply personal article about this, which was printed last Friday by a Glasgow paper, The Scottish Beacon. You can find it here. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
Step Into The Sunshine
As I write, June finally seems to be loading, and the sun is starting to show herself! We’re looking out the dresses, shorts and sandals and, a risky thing to do when you live in Scotland, I’ve even gone outside without a coat. Honestly, that’s big for me. HUGE.
It’s so freeing to feel the sun on your arms, on your bare feet. When you’re not weighed down with layers of clothing, you feel more able to move, to express yourself, and the same thing is true when you peel off the layers that have been holding you down emotionally. You know, things like expectations, obligations, comparisons. Things that make you feel crap about yourself.
I have a question for you: if there was one belief or bad experience you could let go of today, peeling it off like a sweaty T-shirt and dropping it behind you as you walk into the sunshine, what would it be?
Our true selves are obscured by so many old, unhelpful memories or decisions that we’ve made about ourselves, or worse, that other people have made about us and we still carry, like an old coat that never fitted us because it was never ours.
Find something, maybe that thing your History teacher said to you twenty-odd years ago. Drop it on the ground behind you. Feel what a difference it makes to your soul once you finally shed it. Then go outdoors and bask in your individuality. You’re special, and that makes you beautiful. Step into your sunshine.
Notes From The Ground
Something interesting happened at Thomson Towers a couple of weeks back. Mr Thomson and I were having a small, teasing tiff about something (I’ll maybe talk about it in next month’s NftG). And if you remember from last month’s newsletter, you’ll know that we hold hands all the time (especially during silly little tiffs).
Anyway, during this tiff (which was really trivial) I threw his hand down in mock indignation. And he was genuinely taken aback. ‘I’ve never done that to you!’ he gasped. ‘Well, what you did really annoyed me,’ I said teasingly.
What he said next really stopped me in my tracks.
‘Well, you’ve done plenty of things to annoy me in the past and I’ve never done that,’ he said. Only half-joking.
This silly tiff reminded me of a few Big Things:
- I can sometimes be so caught up in my own feelings that I forget he might be feeling things in the moment too.
- He vowed to, and will be, by my side forever and if ever one of us moves away when things get sticky, it’s always me. His statement reminded me that my (reforming) anxious attachment style can still make itself apparent sometimes. And it needs to be monitored.
- Secure attachment is often so stable it can look like a lack of care to an anxiously attached person. It’s actually a lack of reactivity, not a lack of response.
- Choose love more.
The Ultimate Girls’ Night In … Out
The fabulous Dawn’s Salon is back this Thursday (25th June) at The Kimpton Hotel, starting at 7pm!
A sumptuous private room. A cocktail. Some canapés. Honest conversation about love, sex and the relationship you have with yourself as well as others. Throw in a couple of tools you can take away and use, and The Salon’s only job is to help make you feel more fabulous than you do right now.
There is room for six of you, with only two seats available now, one for you and a friend.
Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dawns-salon-tickets-1990082925602?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
Have a great month, you fabulous human. And remember: even if you don’t feel it right now, it doesn’t make it less true.
I’ll catch up with you next month with more Notes From The Ground and tips to keep you feeling tip-top.
With love,
Dawn x