It’s been four weeks since my last Soft Systems Sunday, and honestly, that pause says more than any consistent posting schedule ever could. Life has been life-ing in every direction — moving between cities, preparing for a full relocation after 23 years in DFW, stepping back into a Monday–Friday office routine, parenting across distance, and recalibrating my identity in real time.
Soft Systems Sunday has always been a space for grounding and reflection, so instead of forcing myself back into the rhythm, I let myself breathe. Now I’m returning with a different voice, a different capacity, and a deeper understanding of who I’m becoming.
Press Play for Today
Alex Isley – “Good & Plenty (Acoustic)”
This song is one of my personal favorites — soft, feminine, grounded. It holds the exact emotional temperature of this moment. Let it play while you read.
Why Soft Systems Need to Evolve
I’ve learned that your systems can’t stay the same when your season changes.
Your routines shift when your reality shifts.
Your grounding rituals mature when your responsibilities mature.
Your capacity stretches and contracts with every layer of life you’re navigating.
Trying to squeeze myself back into the version of normal I had before this transition was exhausting. So I stopped. I listened. I recalibrated.
My Recalibration Framework
Pause
Everything in me needed a still moment. Not to freeze — but to listen.
Observe
What was draining me? What was nourishing me? Where was I pretending I had more capacity than I actually did?
Adjust
I shifted the parts of my life that weren’t supporting me. Shorter routines. Softer mornings. Intentional grounding rituals in the space I’m temporarily calling home.
Anchor
Tea. Prayer. My journal. Evening video calls with my girls. Music that feels like a warm hug. Small daily practices that remind me I’m still me inside all this change.
A New Season for Soft Systems Sunday
This next phase of Soft Systems Sunday will look different, because I’m different. This space is evolving into a weekly recalibration ritual rooted in
capacity
grounding
identity shifts
emotional regulation
and gentle structure
It won’t be about perfect routines.
It will be about sustainable ones.
Systems that support you when life gets loud.
Systems that honor the woman you’re becoming, not the one you’ve outgrown.
Your Soft Return
If you’ve also been in a season of distance, disruption, transition, or quiet survival… consider this your invitation to re-enter your own rituals at your own pace.
Ask yourself
What part of me is asking for a gentle return?
Where do I need to reset?
What small anchor would help me feel steady again?
Here’s to recalibration. To new normals. To soft leadership. To showing up in transition with grace and intention. And to all of us returning not as we were, but as we’re becoming.
Can’t commit to a paid subscription right now, but still want to support Balancing, Belonging, Becoming?
Here are some gentle ways to keep this space thriving:
🫖 Buy me a tea to pour into future templates, tools & playlists
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📩 Forward this to a friend who’s navigating a shift
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In softness & strategy,
Kay Leshea
-Soft Era Coaching