Sojourn: On beginning empty-handed, trusting the void, and the courage to start anyway
Sojourn is a Sunday letter for those reinventing with intention—a practical companion to help you pause, reset, and reshape the way you live and work from the inside out. Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe here to receive the next one directly.
Happy Sojourn Sunday!
This week: 1 quiet reflection, 1 anchoring idea, and 1 prompt to meet the moment.
1 Quiet Reflection
There's a moment before every true beginning when you realize: I have nothing figured out.
Not the five-year plan.
Not the perfect strategy.
Not even tomorrow's next step.
Just empty hands and a willingness to start anyway.
I've been there so many times.
At 21, leaving Brazil with one suitcase.
After motherhood, when my old identity no longer fit.
In late 2023, at rock bottom, when everything I'd built felt hollow.
Each time, the same pattern:
The old way stops working.
The new way hasn't appeared yet.
And there I am, suspended between what was and what might be.
We're taught to fear this space.
To fill it quickly with plans, strategies, certainties.
But what if empty hands aren't a lack?
What if they're an invitation?
This week, I'm beginning something new.
Daily writing. Daily showing up.
Not because I have it all mapped out.
But because I'm done waiting for certainty.
The truth is, every meaningful thing I've ever done started this way.
With nothing but a quiet yes.
And the courage to begin before I was ready.
1 Idea to Anchor You
In China, during a tea ceremony, my teacher said something that changed me: 'Steep the tea like you would hold a conversation. Too long, it becomes bitter. Too brief, you miss its essence.'
This is how we begin with empty hands. Not grasping. Not forcing. Just holding space for what wants to emerge. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:
"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage."
The dragon of the empty page. The dragon of not knowing. The dragon of starting over, again.
What if they're not obstacles but invitations? What if beginning empty-handed is the most courageous thing we can do?
In Brazil, we say: "Quem não arrisca, não petisca" — who doesn't risk, doesn't snack.
But it's deeper than risk. It's about trust.
Trusting that empty hands make room for what's meant to find you. Trusting that the void isn't empty — it's humming with potential. Trusting that you don't need the whole path lit. Just the next step. Powerful.
1 Prompt to Meet the Moment
This week, sit with your empty hands. Don't rush to fill them. Instead, ask:
What am I ready to begin, even without knowing how it ends?
Write it down. Not the plan. Not the strategy. Just the quiet yes.
Then notice: How does it feel to name what wants to begin? Sometimes acknowledgment is the first act of courage.
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Until next Sunday,
Ana
