Auntie Hazel

Summary

Helen Hazelmare introduces herself to the Medium community as a multifaceted individual with a rich tapestry of life experiences, defying conventional labels and embracing a life of diversity and depth.

Abstract

Helen Hazelmare, known on Medium, shares a glimpse into her life, which is characterized by a myriad of roles and experiences that resist simple categorization. She identifies as a knitter, writer, maker, cat-petter, scavenger, healer, and peppermint grower, among other things. Hazelmare prefers to describe her life through analogies and references rather than listing her numerous jobs or places of residence, suggesting a life so full it transcends conventional narratives. Her unique perspective on life, often compared to drug-induced visions by her friends, is filled with elements of the fantastical, the mundane, and the deeply personal, including ghost stories and heartbreak. She anticipates the future with excitement, eager to see where her journey will lead next.

Opinions

Hazelmare views her life as a rich tapestry that defies precise description, indicating a resistance to being pigeonholed by traditional identifiers.
She values the stories and experiences that shape her identity over a mere list of occupations or residences, suggesting that life's meaning is found in its narrative, not its metrics.
Her friends recognize her perspective as extraordinary, likening it to an altered state of consciousness, which underscores the depth and uniqueness of her worldview.
Hazelmare embraces the enchanting and challenging aspects of her life with equal enthusiasm, hinting at a philosophy that finds beauty and value in all experiences.
The anticipation of what lies ahead in her life story reflects a sense of wonder and openness to the unknown, indicative of a forward-looking and adventurous spirit.

Auntie Hazel

An introduction for the Medium community.

Grounding at its finest, circa 2015.

Greetings, all you avid readers, writers, publishers, and editors! Though my name is currently Helen Hazelmare, I’m challenged to describe with precision what that means — for myself, much less what it might mean to you. I imagine that’s what living a good life is all about, a life that can only really be told by its mirrors.

Sure, I do things that folx sometimes use as identifiers. I’m a knitter, a writer, a maker, a cat-petter, a scavenger, a healer, and a production peppermint grower. It’s common to be in conversation with me and hear stories that begin “Back when I was working as. . .” Some pals have asked me to try and list all the jobs I’ve had. I refused, just like when someone else asked me to list all the places I’ve lived. The mind can only hold so much.

Instead of getting pinned down with limitations, I give the preturbing yet enchanting aspects of how I live my life and who I am to me in analogies like “my life as a woodcutting” or references to being a mermaid. Both feel adequate and truthful.

Perhaps you can now get a taste of why people habitually have asked me to write about my life, or what caused one of my oldest friends to comment how “people take drugs to see the world how [I] see it every day” — a life full of lived ghost stories, abundance, beauty, grooming, mystery, and literal heartbreak.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.