My dear reader,

Last week, I wrote about the most efficient way to work being able to adjust your own sails and respect the winds around you. Read it here, if you missed it.

This week, I’m writing to you from the terrace of my childhood home in Finland—on holiday, soaking in quiet moments and reconnecting with loved ones.

The older I get, the more I value family and friendship. I think that’s one of the gifts of being in your 30s.

About a month ago, I received a handwritten postcard from my best friend.
In it, she asked me to be her daughter’s Godmother.

It was so unexpected, I cried.

This past weekend, I finally got to meet my Goddaughter and spend time with her.

And something in me shifted.

I’ve never really considered myself a “baby person.”
But the moment I saw this little girl, it felt like we already knew each other.
As if from a past life.

Like:
“Oh, hello. It’s you.”

That grounded, familiar feeling. An instant connection.
It’s a sense I’ve felt only a few times before—and it always feels like magic.

It made me reflect on the idea of love at first sight.

Do you believe in it?

I do.
Not just in romantic relationships.
But in those rare, powerful moments when you meet someone and just know.

That kind of love—the deep, soul-knowing kind—can show up anywhere.

When a mother meets her baby for the first time.
When two people cross paths and feel something familiar, yet ancient, stir.
When a Godmother meets her Goddaughter and is completely undone by a tiny hand wrapping around her finger.

That’s what happened to me.
In that moment, she cracked my heart wide open.

It was as if my inner Mother archetype woke up and whispered:
"I will protect you with every fiber of my being."

This whole experience has made me reflect on what family really means.

My best friend and I go back to high school.
We’ve walked through big joys, deep heartbreaks, celebrations, loss, and healing.

That’s love.
That’s family.

You walk together across life’s thickest ice.
And when it gets thin—when the other falls on their knees—you pull them up.
When one of you wants to give up, the other says:

Not today. We keep going.
We keep connecting and we keep moving.

That’s the kind of love I want my Goddaughter to grow up around.
To know a friendship like ours: sisterhood through thick and thin.
Love that’s unshakable. Where time and distance don’t matter.
Where some connections live deeper than all of that.
Where love stays. Love sticks. Love is consistent, kind, yet fierce, and strong.

I feel so grateful to have friends and family where love like this is present.
Let’s be grateful for that this week, shall we?

My dear reader:
Have you ever felt this kind of love?
Have you experienced love at first meeting?
Or had a moment where you felt, “We’ve met before”?

Hit reply and let me know. I’d love to hear.

With the fullest heart, I send you so much love from Finland,

Essi x