Natalie Audelo

“Other people might not understand who you’re becoming, or why you’re choosing what you choose, or what you’re doing during your seasons of emergence. The good news is that you don’t need anyone’s understanding to live into your truest next chapter. You don’t need anyone’s permission or validation. You don’t need anyone’s green light. You get to go... See more

I’ve come to believe that the greatest sum of human wisdom on surrender resides in the spiritual disciplines that we find across religions and across time, like rest, silence, prayer, fasting, manual labor, pilgrimage, and community. And I believe that all of these can tune us to welcome the spirit of inspiration not just in creative work, but in a... See more

Pretty privilege is a form of self-sustaining energy, in that way—all the positive feedback that attractive people receive instills a kind of self-worth in them that they are indeed deserving of everything they desire, which makes their endeavors that much more persuasive. After all, believing in yourself is necessary for others to believe in you t... See more

When you trust in other people, really incredible and unexpected things can happen. Usually, it’s things where you’re like, “Oh, I didn’t even think of doing that,” or, “Oh, I don’t think that will work out well,” but it actually does. Part of trusting other people might involve letting go of certain images you have of what the outcome should look ... See more

Imagine you are at the end of your life and you are granted the ability to repeat one day. Which period of your life do you choose to repeat? Which phase of life would you want to go back to? Does that tell you anything about how you should be spending your time today?

But, looking back, there wasn’t a single day I didn’t depend on others: an understanding colleague who told me it was ok to cry, a long-distance call with a dear friend, the countless small kindnesses of the baristas at my favorite coffee shop in the East Village. In the height of my so-called independence, I depended on everyone. Everything good i... See more

The Great Diminishment has several causes. (The internet, social media, apathy, etc., all play a role. I’ve written more about how “everyone is numbing out.”) But a big cause is what I’ll call the “venture capitalization” of culture, where as much cost is squeezed out of every nook and cranny as possible, while prices remain the same or higher. You... See more