1. Why this, why now
This is The Explorer Collective - newsletter version. I started the podcast version of the same name last year. It was meant to be audio recordings of guided visualisation for relaxation, more confidence and calming down anxiety. It started as an audio file for my use when I practised visualisation for relaxation, for my monkey mind needed some guidance. Then I put the files together as a ten-episode podcast.
But I wanted to share more of what interests me. I’m very much visual, and I love to read and look at beautiful illustrations, words and colours. I have been thinking (a.k.a. procrastinating) about creating a beautiful newsletter and sharing what I love.
Occasionally, I reminisce about taking out my beautiful letter set from my drawer in my childhood home to write to my cousins who live in another state. I admire the carefully drawn motifs around the letter set and the matching envelopes. I wish we still wrote each other snail mails.
I have had this vision for a while now. I want to share my crafts and my daydreams. The idea of writing to people I have never met before excites me. It reminds me of writing to foreign penpals I found in the International Youth Service directory in the 80s. I was in middle school when I started making pen friends.
That’s how it got me started.
2. What kind of space this will be
I looked up the internet to see whether pen pal directories still exist, and yes, they do! I love the recommended topics for writing a snail mail. Here are some of the topics we can exchange.
Hobbies and Interests
Pets and favourite animals
Your favourite movie or TV show
Places you have travelled to
The area where you live
Favourite type of music
Favourite sports (and what sports you each play)
Describe some recent dreams you had
What book you’re currently reading
What you’re excited about in the coming months
What you usually do on the weekends
Favourite food
Any musical instruments that you play
What you’re most proud of
A famous person you’d like to meet
3. What to expect
Subscription is completely free. I don’t know what to do with a paid subscription; neither does it interest me, at least for now. Free subscribers get the full content. All you have to do is click on the subscribe button.
4. I made this in Canva
I thought you might like to see the publication logo I created.
