The audacity of contentment

Written by Rachael Skyring

Rachael Skyring is a curious woman. AuDHD (very late diagnosed). Committed carer. Over thinker. Sensitive feeler. Stubborn AF. With postgraduate degrees in Astrophysics and Rocket Science, she's spent the last twenty years as mostly a Mum, the last ten honing her metaphysical quantum brain surgery skills through mindful movement and embodiment practices. Whoever you want to be, and wherever you want to go, Rachael can start you on your way. The sky's the limit. Let's begin!

25 January 2025

The Boldness of Softening

Softening into each moment can feel like the boldest act of all. When life changes around us, it’s easy to brace, to tighten, to resist. We hold ourselves still, waiting for the discomfort to pass. But what if—just for a moment—we let ourselves melt into the present? Not forcing, not fixing, but simply allowing this new space to become more familiar.

Ironically, this softness makes change easier. Rigidity is what keeps us stuck in the fearful aspects of the status quo. When we can be here, now—recognizing the familiar elements, the little anchors of safety—we create a gentler path forward. There’s no rush. No pressure. Just a quiet invitation to melt what you can, as much as you’re willing and able. And no matter what, it’s enough.

The Audacity of Contentment

There’s something almost radical about embracing the idea that “good enough” is…well, good enough. We’ve been conditioned to believe there’s always more to do, more to achieve, more ways to improve. But what if we let ourselves pause?

Contentment isn’t the end of growth—it’s the foundation that allows true connection. When we settle into what is, we stop frantically chasing after what isn’t. We begin to recognize our own capacity and honor it. And from that place of acceptance, we can reach out, knowing we don’t have to do everything alone.

It’s in this grounded space that we can make room for others, for collaboration, for community. Being present in our own skin—no more, no less—becomes an act of courage. And it doesn’t require us to apologize or justify ourselves. We are here. We are enough.

Mind, Heart, and Body Practices

For your curious mind: Imagine saying, “No, I can’t do that today,” in a situation where you might usually push yourself to comply.

For your connected heart: Feel into the possibility of receiving assistance before you reach your limit.

For your creative body: Experiment with a movement practice that feels indulgent rather than productive—stretch, sway, or simply breathe deeply.

Sinking into AuDHD Success

offers gentle encouragement and practical steps to help you shift into this space of audacious contentment. This audio guide is a companion for those moments when softening feels like a challenge, helping you embrace your place and pace with kindness.

[✨ Start here✨]

Spark up*

  • Last week to enroll in February 2025 cohort of Embodying Hope 1:1 coaching program
    – start now and build with the year
    – (IMHO February is the new Janaury + Lunar New Year 29 Jan)
    – Next round begins in August
  • Recalibrate for AuDHD joy  free audio guide to get clear on what you need now.

A Moment to Notice

Right now, take a breath and ask yourself: What if I am already enough? Feel how your body responds to that thought. Does it resist, soften, or hold curiosity?

I’d love to hear—what does “good enough” evoke for you today?

Encouragement for Sensitive Souls

Dear one, contentment doesn’t mean settling for less. It means honoring where you are, trusting your pace, and following your wonderings without the weight of needing to be fixed. You are not a project; you are a person, evolving in your own perfect time.

So stay open. Stay curious. And remember, whatever you choose to melt into today, it’s enough.

Affirmation for quietly content AuDHD women

Many AuDHD women can be quite content performing simple generative tasks, allowing their mind to wander freely.

 

They are conditioned instead to force their mind to perform repetitive tasks, generating unrecognised benefits for others.

 

Which undermines our ability to think and feel freely for ourselves.

 

Remember you don’t have to be operating at the (lower) limit of your mental abilities all the time, in order to keep others happy. 

 

I trust you with your own brilliance.  I believe you can very quickly tune in to what would feel most spacious and rewarding for you in any moment, given time to breathe.  That’s exactly the guidance you’ll find in Sinking into AuDHD Success.

My inside story of reaching audacious contentment

Watch my thinking to shift from effortful angst to contented audacity in a few hundred words.

Beginning: Embracing the Process

I’m trying really hard to live this cycle: grow, shift, soften, pause. Over and over again. To feel enough in all the phases and stages. To allow myself to bring what I can to each different situation—even if that sometimes means bringing the same thing until I can figure out what else is needed.

Observation, listening, feeling for what is possible—this is how I find my way. But social imagination moves much slower than logic suggests. And sometimes much faster.

Self-acceptance in each situation is grounding. It’s the only place to learn from. And being surrounded by others who can hold you as you show up and learn? That’s the real gift.

Middle: Words as Play, Order as Disruption

Gratitude, dear reader, for braving the wilds of my undomesticated wording. And yes, wording—not writing, which tends to come with a genre, a structure. Words are tools, playthings, to be learned and used in functional ways. But also in counter-cultural ways, which can feel awkward and uncomfortable.

I’ve been reading about play, about social imagination—a challenge for many neurodivergent folks because it’s not strictly logical. Sometimes we prefer to gather and sort things rather than using them as their form suggests. Maybe that’s why I’m a librarian, intrigued by how people use books in ways other than reading.

Books are for reading, yes. But in the right conditions, they could be for burning—for warmth, for survival. Thank you, Terry Pratchett, and the witches who remind us that function is fluid.

I sort books collected by an institution so others can find them. Yet it’s remarkable when a child sorts things by color or shape instead of using them as expected. That desire for order stands out amidst everyday chaos. Or perhaps it’s chaos that stands out from order. Either way, opposites disrupt and complement.

End: The Path of Open-Ended Thinking

I’ve lost my way here. And gosh, what a helpful sentence that is. In other words, I’m not sure I could have gotten here if I tried to follow a set path. Or rather, I can’t remember or repeat the way I arrived.

Where is here? This state of following thoughts without a conscious endpoint. Open-ended thinking, wording, one word after another. Predictive text only offers me “another day, another day,” but I choose to trust that I’m in the right place.

I often walk into the kitchen and forget why I’m there. The secret? Soften and breathe. Trust I arrived intentionally. I set out reflecting on the audacity of contentment—what it looks like to live from there. And now I find myself invited to trust that I’m enough, that my open-ended thinking is enough.

Reading Tyson Yunkaporta’s Right Story, Wrong Story, I’m inspired by his weaving of thoughts with different interlocutors. Meanwhile, Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time reminds me that many books could have been published with blank pages for the number of people who actually read them.

And yet, books perform many roles without being read—from doorstop to signifier of cool and clever. Ironically, these are complements of what thoughtful reading might produce: opening doors, actual calm and competence.

I swoop through an open sky of possibilities. And wherever I find myself, there I am.

It’s enough to begin.

Wandering mind writing "the audacity of contentment"

(OOREI form made up by slam poet Beau Sia)

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Good enough for government work

Done enough for now

Leave space for others

Limit my range

Enough with the self improvement

Enough already.  You’re good enough for now

Contentment is not the end

It’s the place from which connection begins

Lol  the unions know something about it

Demarcation.   I do this, you do that.

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

In a world where you can do anything

We start to think we need to do everything

What i say no to matters

Thank you steve jobs

Base self in comfort zone with humility

This much i can do and no more

Allows me to reach out in bold peace

Seeking others who can help fulfil my shortcomings

Makes community possible, essential

Strong awareness of current capacity invites connection

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Sitting in it now.  Good enough  

good enough good enough and I want more

Resolves the paradox of more

I am/do/have me, and you are/do/have you

Enables connection without loss of self

Because i can return to contentment every time

No matter what i feel when i land there

Content to feel a wide range of emotions

When i feel sad, i cry and collapse

And allow it to pass.  And i remain, content.

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

My goodness.  I can feel the bold challenge this presents

Means there is a limit to retreat.

I can retreat to my own skin

But no further, without undermining contentment

That is a challenge for me too

Retreat no further than my own skin

Requires me to take up that much space

And to hold space between us for outreach

Requires me to be as big as myself

Present in my skin.  At my surface

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

No apology required.  Good enough.

Simply silent waiting for response.

There is no urgency.

The next message is coming.

Serenity is so irritating!

Frustration boils up.  This too is welcome.

Immovable.   Buddha smile.  

Mona lisa?  No performance required

I am here.  In my place.

I have returned.  I will not leave me alone again

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Discontent is necessary to appreciate

The struggle, the enforcement, the resistance

Dares to play gently at the precipice

Because peace is within

Inner peace!  Ah po, flowing with the water

Time is up.  What do i have to share?

I am content to have struggled.

I am content to struggle no longer

Be all the things, but not everything.

One thing at a time is enough.

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Wherever you find yourself, 

There you are.

Hello me.  You’re looking fine.

Now, how to amuse them today

What needs doing that i can do

Whatever i do will be ultimately pointless

The joy is in movement, action

Of body, emotion, mind, spirit

Allows me to observe the flow

Or become immersed

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

There is no eternal wrong way

Change is the only constant

I am a product of environment and ancestry

And i can choose what i can.

All dreams are illusion

Ungraspable.

Imagination fills the gaps

When i am committed

I can feel resistance to being 

Content with a dream

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Challenges me to give resistance space too

Shake out what is in there i need

Content to being resistant to illusion of contentment

Hmmm is this the tolerance test

Challenges me to bring boldness To my settling.   

Unapologetic but not incurious

In fact curious about everything

Because i am unapologetic

Change of heart and mind can happen

From contentment plus curiosity

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Because i am indifferent to the nature of experiences

I have more choices

Rather than being fixated on avoiding any one outcome

I can soften into all the possibilities

Allows me to flow through

Unscathed.

This too will pass.

Contentment remains.

Can be addressed boldly, unapologetically

What is easier for me?

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Speaks from the wisdom of experience

Observer perspective

Some part of me is always there

This is a thread of continuity

The formless self

Unconditional positive regard

Holds space for me to dance and play

Indifferent, unmoved by outside influences

Protects me from unnecessary harm

Keeps me moving through the phases.

THE AUDACITY OF CONTENTMENT

Another paradox, my favourite

Undaunted.   Dauntless.

What next?   Delighted no matter what.

Holds the wins the losses the successes hte failures

The colours change

Every hue has its moment

Everything becomes possible

Through steady, ongoing contentment

It’s messing with my mind

It feels complete.

Hey Chattie. This week I would like you to Transform the anchored stream of consciousness poem into a relatable everyday embodiment encouragement blog post/email for late diagnosed AuDHD women. Use my friendly, slightly awkward tone of voice. Open with a Reflection on the boldness of softening into and moving with each situation.  Noticing resistance to change, the tightening, bracing, and allowing that to melt away as the space becomes more familiar.  Which ironically allows more change, because it is rigidity which maintains fearful aspect of status quo.  So being here now, recognising the familiar elements, rather than freezing and waiting for it to pass.  As much as you’re willing and able.   Melt what you can.   No matter what, it’s enough.. Then add one suggestion for curious mind, one for connected heart and one for creative body. Outline one moment to notice. with an engagement question. Close with balanced encouragement for sensitive readers, inviting them to stay open to following wondering, without feeling pressured to be fixed

Other posts in the season of consent

The weeks from December Solstice to February Cross Quarter are a time for stillness and enjoying the moment. 

My posts have underlying theme of consent and boundaries – to facilitate stillness and enjoyment.

 The crossover point from duality to consent was the idea of the radical centre, my edge is the centre of a balanced relationship.

Hope lies beyond the instructions, the rules – crossing (habitual) boundaries

Owning your experience – choice is about consent, but to choose, you have to know what you feel, and how you feel about what you feel.

Joyful resistance – pause to notice the boundary, to discover what consent negotiation is needed

Reaching out from happiness – approaching others, grounded in your space, expecting them to have boundaries, falling back to happiness 

The audacity of contentment – commitment to staying with fullness, knowing your limits and respecting them, drawing strength from them.    Whatever they are, it’s a copy problem.  Ie, reframe thinking.

Your no is welcome and invited – from feeling comfortable with my own boundaries and limits, i am less threatened by the limits of others.  Don’t take them personally.

 

Next season, begin again, the theme is shifting to empathy.   Got to have it for self first, and know limits and capacity.

You may also be interested in …

“I need a holiday!”

“I need a holiday!”

Why It’s So Hard for Women with AuDHD to Take a Deeply Restorative Break.  From the outside, it may look like we’ve...

Feeling with, not fixing.

Feeling with, not fixing.

Waiting in Uncertain Silence Silence can feel like an ache, like a space demanding to be filled. But what if we let it...

The power of interpretive dance

The power of interpretive dance

In conversation with Sophie Guy, Founder of True Nature Coaching I loved this wander with Sophie.  She is so warm and...

Blooming self belief