What Happens When Women Gather

“Sometimes the soul doesn’t need to be fixed.
It just needs to be witnessed in a softer light.”
— P.C.

There are seasons in life when we don’t even realize how quiet we’ve become.
Not the kind of quiet that brings peace … but the kind that comes when our creative voice, our spark, or our sense of belonging fades beneath the noise of doing and caretaking.

That’s where I found myself a two years ago.
I was still creating, still showing up … but not fully alive in the process. My work was meaningful, but my soul was tired. Then one day, I said yes to something that would change everything: a creative retreat.

I didn’t go as a teacher, a curator, or a leader.
I went simply as a woman who needed to breathe again.

Something happened there.
Surrounded by others who were showing up messy and brave, I found my own reflection in their stories.
There was laughter that rose like light, art that flowed without agenda, and moments of silence that felt holy.

The rhythm of paintbrushes … the smell of coffee … conversation … laughter … it all became a kind of homecoming.

Since that time, my path has unfolded in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
I’ve moved from attendee to curator, to writer, to retreat leader. But none of that was about striving.
It was about returning.

Returning to what matters … to creativity, to connection, to presence.

And somewhere in that return, this poem found me.

What Happens When Women Gather

by Porsha Chalmers

What happens when women gather
is more than laughter echoing off painted walls,
more than paint on fingertips or
stories stitched into worn fabric.

It is memory rising …
from the scent of cedar,
from a song half-remembered,
from eyes that say,
"I see you. I still see you."

It is healing,
not loud and sudden,
but a mending kind …
quiet as thread pulling through cloth.
Sure as tea poured into a second cup.

It is remembering who we were
before the world told us otherwise …
and choosing her again.

It is bearing witness …
to grief that shaped us,
to joy that saved us,
to the way our hands know
how to make beauty from broken.

It is sacred.
It is sanctuary.
It is circle, not ladder.
Enough, not hustle.
Becoming, not performing.

When women gather,
We remember:
We were never meant to do this alone.

Every time I read this, I think of the women who’ve sat in circles with me … the ones who showed up with stories, laughter, tears, and courage. I think of how creativity and compassion weave together like thread through cloth.

That’s what Soul Map: The Art of Release is built upon.
It’s a retreat designed to help you remember what’s been waiting quietly within you … to reconnect through sound, movement, and mindful making.

To gather, to breathe, and to find beauty again in the space between.

If your soul has been whispering for rest or renewal, this may be the invitation you’ve been waiting for.

Soul Map: The Art of Release
Madison, Indiana – October 23–26, 2025
Reserve your spot here →

A Thought to Carry

“There is a sacred rhythm to rest, creation, and connection.
When we honor all three, we begin to hear ourselves again.”

May this week bring you moments of stillness that spark something new …
and remind you that the most meaningful journeys often begin in quiet company.

“Circles of women give us back the parts of ourselves we’ve forgotten.”
— Marian Woodman

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