15d • General discussion
Why I Work With Woodland Companions
(and how they help tender-hearted adults feel safe again)
I want to share a little about how I work — and why I’ve chosen to create woodland companions to guide, write, and speak through my work.
This path is very intentional.
Many of the people who find me are adults with tender hearts.
Sensitive souls. Neurodivergent folk. Those who’ve been hurt by systems, institutions, or people who held power over them. Those who feel small when faced with authority, instruction, or being “told what to do”.
And if that’s you, I want you to know something first:
There is nothing wrong with you.
The fear of authority isn’t a flaw
For many people, authority once meant:
- being shamed
- being punished
- being misunderstood
- being talked down to
- being told they were “too much” or “not enough”
Over time, the nervous system learns to tense up around anything that feels like:
- an expert
- a teacher
- a rule
- a hierarchy
Even gentle guidance can feel unsafe when the body remembers being hurt.
So when I say I work softly, I truly mean it.
Why woodland companions?
I don’t believe wisdom needs to come from above.
I believe it can come beside you.
Woodland companions — animals, gentle beings, story-folk — don’t carry the weight of authority. They don’t judge. They don’t command. They don’t test you.
They feel like:
- neighbours
- fellow wanderers
- quiet friends who sit with you
And because of that, something important happens.
Your nervous system relaxes.
When the body feels safe, the heart can listen
A fox, a mole, a hedgehog, a ginger cat — they don’t trigger old memories of school, doctors, religion, or punishment.
They don’t say “you must” or “you should”.
They say, quietly:
- “This helped me once.”
- “You don’t have to do this.”
- “We can sit here together.”
- “Take what feels right and leave the rest.”
That creates choice.
And choice restores power.
Wisdom without hierarchy
Each woodland companion holds a kind of knowing — but not dominance.
They have strengths.
They have limits.
They are not perfect.
They don’t pretend to be.
This teaches something deeply healing:
Knowledge doesn’t have to hurt.
Guidance doesn’t have to control.
Learning doesn’t have to cost your safety.
Why letters matter so much to me
Letters are slow.
They’re private.
They don’t demand a response.
They don’t watch you.
There’s no performance.
No right answer.
No pressure to be “ready”.
A letter says:
“I thought of you.”
“I chose my words.”
“You can open this when you’re ready.”
For many tender adults, that alone is regulating.
This is how I work — and how I will continue to work
I don’t see myself as an authority over you.
I’m not here to tell you who to be.
I’m not here to push, rush, or override your body.
I create companions, stories, letters, and guidance that:
- soften fear
- rebuild trust
- honour consent
- centre gentleness
- make space for rest
Because healing doesn’t come from being told what to do.
It comes from feeling safe enough to listen to yourself again.
And if my woodland companions can help you feel even a little less afraid — a little more held — then they are doing exactly what they were created to do.
With gentleness,
Toadstools & Ginger Cats 🍄🌿
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Why I Work With Woodland Companions
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