Welcome to Dare to Flourish

Hello, I’m Mitlé

I have always had a sense of not quite belonging. A desire to immerse myself wherever I am, yet always at the edge somehow, curious and committed, yet also waiting for the signal to move on.

For as long as I can remember, I have felt the call to write. To capture thoughts, questions, longings, and observations. But writing has mostly been private, shared sporadically and without a clear purpose. I have often wondered what the point of my writing is, whether it is self-indulgent, and who would care about what I have to say. In the same way I have asked, again and again, about the purpose of life itself.

Dare to Flourish, is me writing through that, knowing that writing is part of the answer.

Why Dare to Flourish?

Dare to Flourish was the name I gave to my first online community. It was a call to collective care, a space for women to gather, witness, and encourage one another. It began in the early years of motherhood, before I started holding Women’s Circles, before I founded Circle School, before I returned to the land of my birth and started trying to make the British Isles home again.

Now, I find myself called back to the idea of daring to flourish in turbulent and complex times, both personally and collectively.

This space is for those of us who inhabit the edges, whether by choice or circumstance, who hold a sense of dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and who are willing to sit with melancholy and despair without turning away. It is for those who seek awe and wonder despite it all, who make space for complexity, and who long to flourish in ways that honour both our inner lives and our place in the world.

Mary Oliver writes in Starlings in Winter:

Perhaps this is the heart of Dare to Flourish. Flourishing isn’t about “living your best life” regardless of what is going on in the world. It’s about daring to be hopeful, creative, and connected anyway.

What I Write About

📖 Stories & Mythology - I explore the stories that shape us, reclaiming the voices of women from the ancient traditions of the British Isles, from folktales and myths to the lives of those nearly erased from history.

🌿 Seasonal Rhythms & Sacred Practices - I explore how to be in relationship with the land, especially when living on lands without direct ancestral connection. I reflect on how to create sacred practices that are rooted rather than separate from the land, asking permission, making offerings, and seeking to belong.

🌀 Spirituality & Intuition - I explore the shape of women’s spirituality in these times, the wisdom of sacred sites, and the art of living in congruence with our intuitive hearts.

🔥 Feminism & Justice - I write as a feminist who cares deeply about justice, exploring what is happening to women around the world, learning from those who came before us, and adding my voice in the hope that others will rise too.

✨ Circles & Collective Care - We have been gathering in Circles for millennia, seeking wisdom, ritual, and belonging. I explore the power of Circles as spaces of collective care and sacred activism.

And woven through all of this are my love of churchyards, stone circles, footpaths, Yew trees, flowers and baking!

The Conversations I Want to Have

How do we flourish in these times?
How do we rise up and contribute to creating a world we want to leave to our children?
How do we nourish and nurture each other so that our individual paths of contribution are tributaries into the greater whole?

If you read Dare to Flourish for a year, I hope you will gain a deeper understanding of who you are, what you love, and what calls to you. That you feel more connected to the land you live on, to the stories that shape you, and to your sense of belonging. That you have attended or held a sharing Circle, and that you feel seen in my essays and musings and you are flourishing in you own unique way.

Who Am I?

I am Mitlé Clare (she/her); mother of River, daughter of Sally-Ann, granddaughter of Clare and Mitlé, great-granddaughter of Margaretta and Jesse, and Ellen and Anne.

I was born in London, grew up in Suffolk on the ancient lands of the British Celts known as the Iceni Tribe, who Boudicca led in a revolt against Roman rule.

My family lineage is English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish going back to the ancient Celts, Picts and Anglo-Saxons and an abiding connection to the lands of the British Isles.

My matrilineage includes a journey between Australia and England. My Great-Grandmother, Ellen was born in the state now known as Queensland. She came to England for marriage and returned to Australia with my Grandmother Clare and my mother. My mother returned to England when she was 21. I then moved to Australia in 2006 and River was born on Minang/Menang Noongar land in the South West of Western Australia. I returned to England in 2018 with River and my partner, Simon (who was born in Glasgow, Scotland).

We currently live on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England; a beautiful county with Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultural heritage and brimming with myths and folktales, standing stones, stone circles and bronze-age archaeological sites. And we spend as much time as we can in the Scottish Borders - seeking to cultivate a deep relationship with both places and asking the land to claim us.

Join Me

I want Dare to Flourish to feel like sitting in Circle together. A place where you feel welcomed, where you can engage and contribute, where you might be gently challenged, and where we can share experiences and ideas.

This space is for those of us who live at the edges, but who are willing to circle in, to connect, and then to return to the margins to observe and experience. Our stories are small offerings to each other as we try to make sense of this world.

If that speaks to you, I invite you to join me.

Together, let’s dare to flourish.

When you Subscribe

When you subscribe you will begin to receive all of my shares straight into your inbox. You can also download the Substack App, which I wholeheartedly recommend so you can read all your favourite publications, leave comments and join the community chat.

Dare to Flourish is an evolving space and what’s included may change from time to time. If there’s something you’d like me to include please let me know.

I supported your work because I so appreciate your teaching of circle holding and the way you lead through your own wonderful holding of nourishing spaces. I’ve benefitted so much from being in circle with you and the wonderful humans you draw together. I learn, I see, I know, I grow. So glad to continue this journey over here on Substack and to witness you bring your much-needed book to life.

Lisa Mabberley

Mother, Nurture & Wild