Wandering Willow Speaks

What was the most impactful animal encounter you've ever had?

One question brought me back to Kitten, my little cat who changed my life on a cellular level. From our first meeting at an animal shelter to the darkest days of my twenties, this is the story of how seven pounds of fur saved my life.

And how nature, animals, and the trees keep saving me every single day.

I have a confession to make…

I tap the little hearts on my own lives.❤️❤️❤️

There, I said it. And I am not ashamed. It’s so fun!

There’s Beauty in Letting Go

I always think about how beautiful fall is, and the trees are letting go at this time. Letting go can be peaceful and calming, too. That’s what’s happening out there.

Courtney Cunningham 🌻 from Not a Niche joined me to chat about letting go, making space, and responding to the seasons. We talked about rest, coziness, and giving those little seeds time before expecting them to sprout.

We also brought a little of what we each do. Courtney led us through a two-minute taste of Move With Me, and I followed with a writing prompt à la Rooted Word Circle:

What we’re letting go of this fall

Perfectionism

And sometimes, when you don’t feel right inside, it’s a moment to ask: What do I need right now? Food, water, sunlight, a place to root. We’re grown-up adult plants with complicated emotions. 😂

In this conversation

* 00:00 — Fall, letting go, and making space

* 03:05 — Rest, coziness, and giving seeds time

* 07:56 — A little taste of Courtney’s Move With Me

* 12:24 — Writing together: What are you letting go of this fall?

* 14:45 — Perfectionism, playing small, and the hamster wheel

* 17:58 — What do I need right now? Basic needs and community

* 21:11 — Letting go of fear, stress, and expectations

* 24:17 — Rooted Word Circle, Not A Niche, and Thank You!

You can join the movement seated or standing, whatever feels right for you. Take a minute with the writing prompt, too. I’d love to hear what you’re letting go of in the comments.

If you’d like to write and share in community again, the next Rooted Word Circle is November 11. We get into our senses, write, share, and weave our words into a community found poem.

Thank you Corie Feiner, Marina Tjetland, Notes from the Dragon's Nest, GailyArt, Heather Schwartz, Robert P. Nestler, Diane Pienta and many others for tuning into my live video with Courtney Cunningham 🌻! Join me for my next live video in the app, or on computer too - they have that now!

🌿 Come write with us at Rooted Word Circle

Join us for a live monthly gathering for embodied words and open hearts. We’ll settle into our senses, follow a gentle writing invitation, and make room for connection with a community found poem. All levels of writing experience are welcome.

We gather on Zoom the second Wednesday of each month, 12–1 p.m. Eastern. Next Rooted Word Circle is Nov 11, 2026.

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

I cannot believe that I had fun drawing about how I feel invisible, but I did!

Marina is really onto something with her publication Draw to Notice, where readers are invited to draw little comic strips about how they are feeling. It’s not about art, it’s about moving the emotions to the page, and giving our bodies and nervous systems a break from holding on to all the things that do not serve us.

Thank you Corie Feiner, Sheri Handel, Sherry Taveras, and many others for tuning into my live video with Marina Tjetland! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Next Interactive Live

My favorite part about going live is being able to chat live with you and answer any questions, or simply deepen the experience of being alive and connected!

The next live coming up will be on Thursday October 22 at Noon Eastern time. Courtney Cunningham 🌻 will be guiding us with a short movement practice, and I’ll be guiding a writing prompt and community found poem.

I can’t wait to see you there!

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

Subscribe to Wandering Willow and get The 5-Minute Homecoming Zine free—a gentle embodied practice for reconnecting with yourself.

Sometimes you just gotta take your emotional support coffee over to the tree at the bank.

Do you have any stories of the unique ways you engage with the more-than-human world? Bonus points if it includes being weird in public.

Spread the word! Every comment, like, and restack helps this reach more people.

Upcoming Events

🌿 Come write with us at Rooted Word Circle

A live monthly gathering for embodied words and open hearts. We’ll settle into our senses, follow a gentle writing invitation, and make room for connection with a community found poem. All levels of writing experience are welcome.

We gather on Zoom the second Wednesday of each month, 12–1 p.m. Eastern.

Next Circle is October 14!

https://wanderingwillow.substack.com/p/rooted-word-circle

Wandering onward,

Sam 🌿

The seasons are shifting, and maybe you’re feeling a little all over the place, too. Come sit with us for a bit. 🍂

Christie and I pulled cards for the equinox (fall up here in the Northern Hemisphere), and the conversation wandered into something I keep needing to hear myself: we’re allowed to make things easier. And have some f*****g fun along the way. (yeah I swore, oops. Sorry not sorry. Also, I do cuss a lot IRL.)

We talk about it all in the live video replay, so click to watch above! And let me know how the cards landed for you!

Upcoming Events

Substack Live

And speaking of being human… ever feel invisible, and then a little terrified at the thought of being seen? Yeah. Me too.

This Thursday, September 24 at 11 a.m. Eastern, I’m joining Marina Tjetland for From Invisible to Seen, a live conversation with a little three-panel comic drawing. Bring paper, a pen, and your curiosity—no drawing skills needed.

I’m a little nervous, and I think it’s going to be fun. Come explore with us. 💙

If this sounds like your kind of company, subscribe to Wandering Willow. I’d love to have you here.

Rooted Word Circle

🌿 Come write with us at Rooted Word Circle

A live monthly gathering for embodied words and open hearts. We’ll settle into our senses, follow a gentle writing invitation, and make room for connection with a community found poem. All levels of writing experience are welcome.

We gather on Zoom the second Wednesday of each month, 12–1 p.m. Eastern.

Thank you Marina Tjetland, Corie Feiner, Notes from the Dragon's Nest, and many others for tuning into my live video with Christie Sausa, MS! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

Sometimes I need a little space to hear myself. To feel where I am, notice what’s here, and let words come from that place.

That’s what I’m inviting you into with Embodied Writing, a new monthly video practice for paid subscribers of Wandering Willow.

Each month, we’ll come back to our senses through a guided embodiment practice, then spend a little time writing together. For me, embodiment is a doorway into writing. When I can feel the support beneath me, notice the air on my skin, and listen to what’s happening within and around me, I have somewhere to begin.

We’re nature, too. Listening to ourselves is part of tending that relationship.

And I wanted to offer something you could return to in your own time, at your own pace. We live in different time zones, have different schedules, and find ourselves with energy at different hours. This can be your own practice, while still being part of our Wandering Willow Grove.

Think of it as a little monthly space we share, whenever you arrive.

For this first practice, we’re exploring the season within.

In the video, we begin with Pleasures of Presence, followed by an equinox-inspired invitation.

Bring something to write with and come as you are. There’s space in the video for five minutes of writing, and you can pause for as long as you’d like.

The Writing Invitation

If you’d like to jump straight to the writing prompt, here it is:

In this video Christie Sausa, MS and I talk all things Lions Gate. We also do intuitive readings for all the astrological signs.

Subscribe to Wandering Willow and get The 5-Minute Homecoming Zine free—a gentle embodied practice for reconnecting with yourself.

There’s also cats. Because… cats. The house lions for Lion’s Gate.

And as Christie said:

I (Christie) used one of my favorite decks, Lyn Thurman ‘s beautiful Quiet Rebel Tarot deck. If you like her work, she has a Kickstarter going on for her FABULOUS Oracle deck as well.

Sam Messersmith used the The Spirit Animal Oracle deck for backup messaging.

The energy of Lion’s Gate Portal 2026 has been wild, especially with the heat of Fire Horse energy. It’s been a wild year, lots of fires burning, both literal and figuratively.

How has the energy of Lion’s Gate been feeling for you? Tell me about it in the comments. Shine your light, speak your truth. It’s welcome here :)

Thank you Amy Brown, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, and many others for tuning into my live video with Christie Sausa, MS! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Upcoming Events

Rooted Word Circle Wednesday August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET, more info and sign up here.

Show and Tell for Grown-Ups September 6, 2026 at 1pm ET, included with all paid subscriptions. Zoom link goes out the Friday before.

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

P.S. If you’d like to support me (and my cats) without writing poems or upgrading to a monthly subscription, you can buy me a coffee. ☕ is my love language. You can buy me one here:

A bee landed on my boob. That’s right. A bee touched me without my consent, on a place I would prefer bugs not land.

As I write this today, on August 7th, there has been such a theme of power playing out these past few weeks, squarely in Lionsgate portal season. The peak being tomorrow, August 8th, when I’m doing a live with Christie Sausa, MS here. We’re going to be talking all things astrological and tarot.

Upcoming Events

Lionsgate Portal Live with Christie Sausa, MS of The ADHD Tarot on Saturday August 8 at Noon ET here.

Rooted Word Circle Wednesday August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET, more info and sign up here.

Show and Tell for Grown-Ups September 6, 2026 at 1pm ET, included with all paid subscriptions. Zoom link goes out the Friday before.

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

P.S. If you’d like to support me without a monthly subscription, you can buy me a coffee. ☕ is my love language. You can buy me one here: https://buymeacoffee.com/wanderingwillow

Rooted Word Circle is a living breathing thing, and it’s been calling me back. Calling me back to offer it to the world.

Rooted Word Circle is a live, one-hour poetry workshop on Zoom where we gather in community, write from a shared prompt, share a few words or lines, and weave our words together into community found poems.

We begin with a short sensory grounding inspired by forest therapy. No writing experience is needed—just bring yourself and something to write with.

This is a live-only gathering with no replay, helping us keep the space present, intimate, and sacred.

Wednesday, August 12 at 12 p.m. EasternSliding-scale tickets begin at $11.99, with a suggested price of $16.99, and the option to give more to pay it forward.

https://buy.stripe.com/14AdRa8Sj12feTb2XA2wU04

The next Rooted Word Circle is coming up.

Wednesday, August 12 at 12 p.m. Eastern.

You can save your seat by clicking on the link here: https://buy.stripe.com/14AdRa8Sj12feTb2XA2wU04

I am so excited to bring Rooted Word Circle back to life, and I can’t wait to weave our words together.

Upcoming Events

Lionsgate Portal Live with Christie Sausa, MS of The ADHD Tarot on Saturday August 8 at Noon ET here.

Rooted Word Circle Wednesday August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET here.

Show and Tell for Grown-Ups September 6, 2026 at 1pm ET, included with all paid subscriptions.

Wandering onward,Sam 🌿

P.S. If you’d like to support me without writing or a monthly subscription, you can buy me a coffee. ☕ is my love language. You can buy me one here:https://buymeacoffee.com/wanderingwillow

How the natural world shows us exactly what we need, when we need it.

Join me for my next online gathering July 5th at 1pm EDT, open to paid subscribers. More info here https://wanderingwillow.substack.com/p/show-and-tell-for-grown-ups