A room full of strangers, and I felt completely safe.
From the Sunday Self-Care Chronicles | 9/6/26
Hello lovely,
I want to tell you about a couple of beautiful community calls I joined recently.
It’s called the C2 Community Call and it’s a weekly online gathering led by Christine Toner, a breast cancer survivor and advocate for women' s wellness.
What makes these calls truly unique in our current world of online connection is that they are actual phone calls with audio only.
There’s no Zoom app to navigate, no cameras or name tags, and therefore no performance pressure. No faces, just voices.
Christine does invite everyone to share their first name if they wish but there is no pressure to do so which means you can show up completely anonymous if you choose.
And I have to say that anonymity is really intriguing, and makes it feel like a very safe space, especially the first time you call in.
The first time I joined I did say hello with my name but beyond that I just listened. I allowed myself to be present with the group, even in moments of silence, and really absorb what the call was all about.
I loved realizing that even in a space of potential anonymity there are obviously people who call in often and this established a sense of community even without being able to see each other.
The second time I was actually there to read an excerpt from an email I wrote earlier this year — "Your Body Is Not Public Property" — and instead of feeling on the spot like I sometimes do in a zoom meeting, I felt completely held.
Christine facilitates with this rare, steady warmth that makes space for whoever shows up. She offers ample opportunities to contribute, to share, to ask questions, or to simply listen and let the words of others settle somewhere in your chest. You are not required to perform. You are invited to be present.
If you have ever felt like healing requires you to show up polished, camera-ready, and prepared to explain your whole story, this is the opposite of that.
The recording of our conversation is now up on the C2 YouTube channel and featured in the Substack.
If you want a sense of what these calls feel like, start there. I read a piece about reclaiming your body when the world keeps treating it like public property, and we talked about what it means to come back home to yourself after cancer has rearranged the furniture.
But here is what I really want you to take away today:
There is no single program, person, or page that holds every answer for your healing.
Not mine. Not Christine's. Not anyone's.
The truth is, we are all building a self-care toolbox — pulling in pieces that fit our specific bodies, our specific stories, our specific days.
One conversation might give you language for something you have been feeling. Another might offer a technique you had never tried. A third might simply remind you that you are not doing this alone.
This is how the big picture comes together. Puzzle piece by puzzle piece.
Christine's C2 calls happen weekly, and I think they are one of those puzzle pieces worth exploring. If you are curious about joining a live call — showing up as a voice or as a quiet listener — you can find details on her website or through her Substack.
She runs a genuinely welcoming space and I am deeply grateful she made room for me in it.
Now I’d love to know: What is one tool — a practice, a resource, a person, or even a way of thinking — that has found its way into your self-care toolbox lately? Hit reply and tell me so I can cheer you on.
Because remember, I’m always in this with you.
P.S. This a beautiful example of “community” when you are attending to your six fundamentals of active healing!
P.P.S. If you are working on building your own body-based self-care toolbox after breast cancer, that is exactly what we do inside As You Are Now. I've extended the founding member rate and I have three spotsopen to enroll this month before our next Welcome Call on Thursday September 17th. Email me with “program” if you want to discuss the details.
Different pieces of the puzzle. Same goal of creating your unique path to healing beyond breast cancer. You are allowed to try them all.