Reclaiming the Village Gossip
Yesterday, I sat on the land with the women who are helping weave this year’s gathering.
Somewhere between the laughter, the ideas, and the quiet moments in between…
something unexpected surfaced.
Talk about “The village gossip”.
Not in the way we’ve been taught to think about it.
But in a way that felt ancient. Familiar.
Like something I already knew… but had forgotten.
There was a time when connection didn’t need effort in the way it does now.
There was no strategy.
No carefully crafted messaging.
No algorithm deciding who got to see what.
There was just… conversation.
Women speaking to women.
And through those conversations, everything moved.
News travelled from one voice to another.
Stories were carried across doorways, fields, kitchens.
Support was offered, not scheduled.
Invitations weren’t broadcast — they were shared.
“Have you heard about this?”
“Come with me…”
“You need to meet her…”
This was how the village lived.
Not through systems… but through relationship.There was a time when connection didn’t need effort in the way it does now.
There was no strategy.
No carefully crafted messaging.
No algorithm deciding who got to see what.
There was just… conversation.
Women speaking to women.
And through those conversations, everything moved.
News travelled from one voice to another.
Stories were carried across doorways, fields, kitchens.
Support was offered, not scheduled.
Invitations weren’t broadcast — they were shared.
“Have you heard about this?”
“Come with me…”
“You need to meet her…”
This was how the village lived.
Not through systems… but through relationship.
And within that village, there was often a woman who knew what was happening.
Not because she was intrusive.
But because she was connected.
She was the thread between people.
The one who remembered who needed what.
The one who passed things along so no one was forgotten.
She was a messenger.
A weaver.
A bridge.
She helped the village stay… a village.
So when did that become something negative?
When did “gossip” shift from connection… to something we judge, dismiss, or avoid?
When did women speaking become something to quieten?
Somewhere along the way, something changed.
Women became “too much.”
Too loud.
Too expressive.
Too involved.
Too connected.
And rather than honour that…
it was labelled.
Dismissed.
Reduced to something small.
“Gossip.”
And of course, there is a shadow here.
When we are disconnected from ourselves…
when we feel unseen, unheard, or unfulfilled…
the way we use our voice can change.
Words can become sharp.
Conversations can become divisive.
What once connected… can begin to separate.
But this isn’t the origin of it.
This is what happens when something sacred loses its roots.
Because at its core, this was never about tearing one another down.
It was about weaving one another in.
So what happens if we look at this differently?
Not as something to shut down…
but as something to reclaim.
What if the voice that shares…
is not the problem?
What if it’s part of the solution?
What if, instead of speaking about each other, we returned to speaking to each other?
What if we became the women who say:
“I’ve found something that touched me… come with me.”
“I met someone you would love.”
“You don’t have to do this on your own.”
Because this is what I see, over and over again, when women gather.
Not just in big, organised spaces…
but in the small, quiet moments too.
Around tables.
On walks.
In circles.
In the spaces where nothing needs to be performed.
Women begin to speak again.
Not perfectly.
Not with the right words.
But honestly.
And something shifts.
There’s a softening.
A remembering.
A sense of…
“I’m not alone in this.”
Sitting on the land yesterday, with these women, I realised something.
We’re not just planning a gathering.
We’re remembering a way of being.
We’re rebuilding something that has always existed… but has been forgotten.
And it doesn’t come back through big campaigns or perfect messaging.
It comes back through women.
One woman… reaching out to another.
“Come with me.”
Maybe the village doesn’t return through something grand.
Maybe it returns quietly.
Through conversations.
Through invitations.
Through the willingness to connect again.
So maybe this week…
instead of scrolling…
instead of waiting…
instead of overthinking…
you reach out.
You send the message.
You share something good.
You invite someone in.
And in doing that…
you become the voice that connects.
You become the bridge.
You become…
the village gossip.
And maybe…
that is exactly what the world needs right now.
If something in this resonated with you…
you are always welcome to come and sit with us.
In circle.
In conversation.
On the land this summer.
There is space for you here.
I would love to hear your voice and your story, your gossip and your invitation
See you soon
Much love
Laura X
PS if you want to take a listen to this weeks podcast, click here: AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE
