The Mettā View weaves together stories, lessons, and reflections from the varied areas of my work—business development, conscious communication, coaching, mindfulness, and strategy—while offering a mindful lens that invites new perspectives and insights. It’s a gift from my heart-mind to you, dear reader. May it bring you inspiration and invite moments of reflection and connection. About me? Formerly a business fashion executive for Christian Louboutin, I'm now an entrepreneur, mindfulness coach, podcaster & writer. Weekly I share the Mettā View, but you can also find me on Out of the Clouds, a podcast at the crossroad between business and mindfulness. For meditation offering, head over to Insight Timer.
On choosing creativity (and its cost)
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WELCOME TO THE METTĀ VIEW The Mettā View weaves together stories, lessons, and reflections from the varied areas of my work—business development, conscious communication, coaching, mindfulness, and strategy—while offering a mindful lens that invites new perspectives and insights. It’s a gift from my heart-mind to you, dear reader. May it bring you inspiration and invite moments of reflection and connection. ✨ The creative questionIn one of my latest recordings for the Metta Interview podcast, I had the pleasure of talking to journalist, author and writing coach Paulette Perhach. Spoiler alert! The question that is most alive for her at the moment is: "What are we seeking when we seek a creative life?" The inquiry can also be framed as: At what cost is it worth pursuing an artistic career? What is the cost of not pursuing a creative career is what I was left to reflect upon. And what happens when we leave that calling behind. At 24 — which is not that young, one should note — I left Geneva to go and sing on London stages. It was one of the boldest moves I ever made. My parents disapproved. I had no financial support, and no secondary career plan to fall back onto should things go south. I had dropped out of university, not only because I was terribly bored by the curriculum, but also because of this irrepressible need to sing. And with that, to find the right people to make music with. Looking back, I realise that at that age, I wasn't wrestling with any dilemma as to whether or not to press on with my dream. The pull towards music was so strong that doing anything else was unthinkable. It's only now, years later, as I've built a different kind of creative life — writing, building community, crafting new offerings that feel just as bold and perhaps just as scary — that I find myself questioning not just how I made those early choices, but what they cost and what they gave me. It's only recently, through the work of trauma expert Gabor Maté, that I've found language for what was really happening during that pivotal time. Maté, in a recent clip shared by a friend, talks about the potential clashes between our innate need for security vs our need for authenticity. When these two crucial areas of development come into conflict, the expectation is that the child, or teenager in my case, will suppress their authentic self to keep the connection to the parent or caregiver alive, bonding for security, survival. I made the unlikely opposite choice. You see, my mother had been ill for a number of years, and for many reasons, home often felt like an unsafe environment. My authentic rebellion"Since I can't have safe attachment, I'll go all-in on being authentic." I can imagine that this is what was going on below the surface of my awareness. Singing, a beloved artistic pursuit of self-expression, and source of crystallisation of the pain I carried around, was also embodied tool for coming into myself. As such, it became the utmost priority in my young life. Despite all that, I never dreamt of big fancy stages or festivals. Neither did I ever truly imagine myself becoming a successful recording artist. I never really tried to turn professional either. Instead, hovering at the level that my soul had called for, I found a tribe, people who loved what I loved, and I sang to my heart's content. For a few years, I gave in to my passion, alongside the most amazing, kind and talented peers. I say peers, some were 10 years younger and others 10 years older. A couple of the older 'divas' that come to mind were just the right level of scary, but generally warm-hearted nonetheless. As the memories flood back, tears aren't far. That's actually a period of my life I'd happily revisit if I could. Cultivating the knowingI share this not just as a memory, but because I’ve learned that our most authentic choices — even the ones that seem impossible at the time — often become the foundation for how we guide others to find their way back to themselves. We never know exactly what or how the energy we put out into the world will move us, transport or transmute. Back then, two of the girls I sang with made it onto the X Factor finals. One even won, becoming an overnight success. This year, I randomly found myself liking an image of one of my former peers, Radhika, wearing a beautiful red dress adorned with my former clients’ jewellery, on a red carpet appearance: she had been nominated for a Grammy. The uber talented Sharlene Hector, who I always fangirled around (I couldn’t love her voice more) is one of the three muses in the new production of Hercules in the West End (and if you are in London, you should definitely go and watch it!) One of the other wondrous and talented artists I was lucky to meet is my friend Ella Boucher. I say friend, but we are more like family, her being the little sister I never had. We both pursued music careers (she went much further than I did) and both ventured on bold, unconventional paths. And we both sold shoes. I’m excited to be talking to this evening for our upcoming salon, happening later this evening, titled The Stories Between Us. For years I never mentioned to anyone that I used to sing, let alone pursue any kind of music career. Us connecting over this topic feels tender and important. If you have planned to attend, expect more of a conversation than an interview, as the richness of the stories will certainly stream forth from both of us. We’ll explore: What happens when you pursue your calling? Occasionally, a thought pops in my head, about singing again. Music doesn’t hold the same place in my life as it once did. Will I find a way to revive this passion, shape it so that it finds its rightful place for where I am at here and now? Asking the question feels like a move in itself. I don't need to know anything else just now. If you are in Geneva (or nearby), you can still join us, there are a couple of spots left. Register here. If you are somewhere else in the world, I'm happy to tell you that the Le Trente Salon will be popping up in several places in Europe this winter, starting with London in November. Look for Paulette’s podcast interview in the coming weeks, and subscribe to the Metta Interview if you haven’t already. Our latest episode just came out, with my friend, Some Days founder Libby Stockstill.
Thank you as always for reading me, I appreciate your time and attention. Have a good one.
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The Mettā View
The Mettā View weaves together stories, lessons, and reflections from the varied areas of my work—business development, conscious communication, coaching, mindfulness, and strategy—while offering a mindful lens that invites new perspectives and insights. It’s a gift from my heart-mind to you, dear reader. May it bring you inspiration and invite moments of reflection and connection. About me? Formerly a business fashion executive for Christian Louboutin, I'm now an entrepreneur, mindfulness coach, podcaster & writer. Weekly I share the Mettā View, but you can also find me on Out of the Clouds, a podcast at the crossroad between business and mindfulness. For meditation offering, head over to Insight Timer.