Hello friends!
Welcome to the internet home of Annie Westphal--author, wordsmith, and general life ponder…er.
At its most basic level, this website functions as a blog with links out to my published wor
ks and anything else I find interesting or relevant. I may link to causes I support, projects that my family is involved with that I want to share, etc. I am excited about the potential in this space--potential being a word that I've been pondering quite a bit recently.
The root of the word "potential" is the Latin "potentia"meaning "power, might or force." I know that exploring the etymology of words is a cliché, but get over it. I'm a translator, and I'm probably going to do it a lot.
I love knowing that, once upon a time, potential was not something you could meet or, oftentimes, fail to fulfill in the eyes of others. There is power inside of the word, like within a seed or a gathering storm—an almost inevitable unfolding.
This space has potential, for me. There was a time, years ago now, when I had an internet home that helped me get words out of my head. In some sort of weird alchemy, writing blog posts about my life began to actually change my life, like by magic.
I believe there is power in intentional space--in being bold enough to step forward and dare to BE who you are in full technicolor glory. As my dear friend Susan often says, "Be you, unapologetically."
I mean, you may as well be you, just as I may as well be me, because the seed has already been planted; the storm is coming, and all we can do now is dance in the rain.
And so, with that mini-meditation on the concept of Potential, welcome to my little corner of space and time. Not to switch from the esoteric to the mundane with brutal abruptness...but if you wish to be updated about my new blog posts, and about any upcoming events or book releases, please subscribe to my mailing list.
I hope you enjoy your time here. I hope this space will be for you, as I know it will be for me, an exhale in time--a space to wonder, to laugh, to cry, to breathe, and to be.