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The Incentive ​
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Close enough it can be touched
then pulled away.
I fall in love with
what I can’t live without
so I have no choice
but to not give up.
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​-k. thompson
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Self, Nurturance
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​Envelop me in pink silk,
drape me in care only the feminine can provide.
Lower my defenses scarred and scratched,
soften to feel what I’ve always needed
so I may finally give it to myself.
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​-k. thompson

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So is Your Breath (mini poem)

When concern becomes reality
remember
so is your breath.

-k. thompson

Hello Friends,

There is nothing fair about meningitis. As a survivor I mean it when I say it has taken almost everything from me at one point or another.

I try to stay resilient for the 18 year-old girl who cried herself to sleep in the hospital for weeks. I share my story to help others protect themselves from the same pain. I remain vulnerable always. I share my hardest moments as a career, but it’s so much more than that. It’s truly a personal vocation to share the love and compassion I've been given.

Being disabled and chronically ill I feel like I am constantly testing my limits. I am forced to do it on a day-to-day basis with my multitude of ever-changing symptoms. I push myself just as hard in other aspects of my life - as a creative professional, as a mom, wife and human. There comes a time when boundaries are needed for self-preservation. You can't keep pouring from an empty cup.

As I’ve begun sharing the most vulnerable parts of myself, I’ve realized that I have withdrawn other parts drastically, and to be honest it feels good. It feels necessary. Pulling inwards for rest and rejuvenation is a natural part of the process.

Consolidating my work life had to happen. It’s easy to fall in love with your work and then sacrifice yourself for it, particularly if you’re a creative or advocate. If anything has changed, it’s that I’ve realized that I don’t have to sacrifice myself - I can give. I can choose what I give, and I always want to give my best.

Embracing my spirituality has also been a vital part of this process. I have been a longtime follower of astrology and began practicing on my own divination journey for the past few years. I’m also a lifelong lucid dreamer, and started exploring those experiences through storytelling on my podcast.
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I bring up astrology too, because it’s the week where Pluto will finally shift into Aquarius from my rising sign of Capricorn, wrapping up storylines that began way back in 2008. This newsletter is proof of this transit's impact in my own life.
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Back in 2008 I was a rising senior in college. I was getting ready to have a spinal fusion surgery after all I’d been through with meningitis and a spinal cord injury three years earlier. I knew I had so much I wanted to say and to do. I felt isolated, but also felt the power of those moments of solitude. I began to enjoy them.

I knew I wanted to create, but I didn’t think I could make a living off of it, especially poetry or art. I began working in the non-profit arts world that year and haven’t stopped advocating for a better world personally or professionally ever since. However the call to share my own story, write my own words, and create my own art has never ceased.

Now, I am writing my own words, creating my own art and telling my own story. This essay is something I’d let the world convince me wasn’t necessary, but now I laugh at that notion - I couldn’t stop my heart from speaking even if I wanted to. I’ve finally learned how to listen and now share in way thats feels authentically all me.

Thank you for taking the time to make space for my journey today. I hope this helps you realize the wonder of your own existence and appreciate your own unique story as well.

With much love,

Katie T.

P.S. If you'd like to further support my work become a paid subscriber!​