Joy, Play, and a Path Back to Yourself | The Garden Pathway, May 25th, 2025
Issue 21, Vol III
Welcome to the Garden, my friend!
The Garden is a sacred space for slow blooming, gentle remembering, and joyful return.
It’s a soul-safe sanctuary where deep-feeling humans come to pause, reflect, and reconnect… with themselves, with Spirit, and with the soft rhythms of becoming.
Think of it as your invitation to step out of performance… and into presence.
Here, you’ll find:
✨ Soulful reflections and stories
✨ Gentle seasonal rhythms
✨ Playful invitations from the Divine Inner Child
✨ Creative prompts, sacred silliness, and quiet truths
✨ Updates from the Sacred Playhouse & Curio Shoppe
✨ And the company of kindreds walking a similar path
💛 Free subscribers receive all public posts and a soft touch of garden magic.
💛 Paid subscribers are lovingly welcomed into the full ecosystem… early access to offerings, deeper reflections, play prompts, community threads, and special gifts along the way.
No pressure. Just presence.
Read what calls to you. Rest when it doesn’t. And return whenever your soul needs sanctuary.
I’m so honored you’re here.
Welcome, beautiful soul. Let’s grow together.
The gate is open. The tea is steeping. And something playful has just landed.
There’s a sacred stirring moving through The Garden and The Sacred Playhouse this week, and I can’t wait to share it with you. But first… let’s name the crayon-colored elephant in the room:
"But… why? Why the sparkles? Why the cartoon characters? I thought The Garden was about healing, thresholds, and finding ourselves again."
I’ve heard that whispered more than once, and yes, one of those whispers was mine.
The Sacred Playhouse was born from a tender, soul-deep truth:
We are allowed to feel joy again.
Not just after the healing. Not once we’ve earned it or figured everything out.
But now.
In the midst of becoming.
In the soft, sacred in-between.
Right here, exactly as we are.
So many of us, especially those with tender hearts and old souls, have spent lifetimes holding things together. We’ve been the caretakers, the fixers, the steady ones. We’ve “done the work,” but somewhere along the way… joy slipped through the cracks.
The Playhouse isn’t here to distract you from your healing.
It’s here to weave joy back into it.
With softness. With laughter. With just enough silliness to remind your nervous system that delight is safe again.
Because play is not childish, it’s sacred.
It’s how the soul integrates.
It’s how the body exhales.
It’s how we remember what’s real.
And whimsy? Whimsy is not fluff.
It’s integration with sparkles.
It’s how we shift without shame, grow without gripping, and come home to our enoughness through wonder, not willpower.
The Sacred Playhouse isn’t a gimmick.
It’s a presence. A permission. A soul-lantern in rainbow socks.
So whether you’re here to color outside the lines or simply rest in a world that welcomes your softness...
Welcome in.
The crayon gate is open.
Let’s explore what’s blooming this week, my friend...
The Sacred Playhouse Has Officially Bloomed!
The doors to the Sacred Playhouse are wide open, and our whimsical soul friends are ready to welcome you inside.
If you’re new here, The Playhouse is the joy-infused sister space to The Garden. It’s where healing meets sparkle. Where your Divine Inner Child gets to take the lead. Where softness, silliness, and soul-truth play together without pressure.
✨ It’s not a course.
✨ It’s not a lesson.
✨ It’s a sacred world of remembering, and everyone’s invited.
And yes… the residents are very real (and chatty), and you can visit them anytime:
👉 Meet the Residents Here
The Seasonal Joy Hunt Begins!
This week, we’re kicking off our very first Seasonal Joy Hunt, a gentle scavenger invitation to spot delight, beauty, and childlike wonder in your everyday world.
You’ll find the full list of prompts below. When you see one, take a picture and share it with us!
How to join:
Snap a photo of any item on the Joy Hunt list
Post it to Instagram or Threads
Tag @thementalmystic and use #SacredJoyHunt
OR, if you’re more cozy-quiet, comment your favorite find on Monday’s Substack thread (in the Garden chat).
At the end of the week, one joyful soul will receive a surprise gift from The Garden Gate Curio Shoppe, and everyone who participates will get a downloadable Joy Spotter Badge to honor their sacred seeing.
🧺 This Week’s Joy Hunt List (Brought to you by Bibble):
🌈 Rainbow or rainbow-colored object
🌸 Blooming flower or patch of greenery
🪶 Feather found in nature
💚 Heart-shaped rock or leaf
🦋 Butterfly or hummingbird
✨ Sparkling water reflection
😊 Smiling stranger
☁️ Cloud that looks like an animal
💌 Kind note or uplifting message from a stranger
🌅 A beautiful sunrise or sunset
You don’t need to find them all.
Just begin noticing.
Joy always leaves clues.
The Garden Path Is Beginning to Bloom...
Behind the scenes, something sacred is quietly unfolding...
I’m in the process of building a soul-guided course series called The Garden Path, a gentle, petal-by-petal journey back to your joy, rhythm, and inner truth.
Each Petal will guide you through a sacred threshold with:
Journaling + reflection prompts
Creative soul play (yes, coloring included)
Inner child connection
Audio blessings and sacred grounding
And yes... the Playhouse friends are helping create it.
Bibble’s writing welcome notes.
Snugs is blessing the rest rituals.
Lulu-Belle is icing compliments into the margins.
Even Grandma Pearl is whispering wisdom in the footnotes.
The first Petal, “The Threshold,” is nearly ready.
More soon. Just know: you’re already on the path.
The Garden Gate Curio Shoppe Is Open
The shelves are stocked with coloring pages, soft story magic, and Divine Inner Child gifts. If you haven’t visited yet, you’re warmly invited to browse and explore.
P.S. This week’s Joy Hunt winner will receive a surprise from here.
In Case You Missed These…
You don’t have to rush, my friend.
You don’t have to find all ten things.
You don’t have to get it “right.”
You just have to look.
To breathe.
To let joy meet you where you are.
We’re walking with you.
With sparkles, softness, and so much love,
☕A Gentle Way to Support the Work
Found something here that resonated?
If you feel moved to support this work with a one-time gesture, you can do so here:
Your kindness helps keep the light on in The Garden.
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