Portugal. I flew to Portugal.

Portugal because when I had to make a quick decision it made the most sense.

Last week I left you on a dramatic cliffhanger without mentioning where I was going next and then disappeared into the safety of my personal privacy.

Things happen when you choose to openly share yourself with people. In the desire to be seen you also open yourself to be
projected on
validated
criticised.

When you choose to put yourself in front of people, as I have, to share my work, my heart, my art… people will say things
to you
at you
for you.

And those things won’t be about you. They will be about them.

Their pain
their hopes
their failures
their dreams
their fears
their lives
projected onto yours through their telescope of experience.

When you choose to put yourself in front of people, as I have, to be seen the way I yearn to be seen… people will reflect themselves on you.

And those things will be about them.

Their goodness
appreciation
sadness
desire
love
hurt
talent
mirrored by your goodness love appreciation desire hurt sadness talent.

It’s a risk I am willing to take. Because…

When you choose to put yourself in front of people, as I have, to find the myriad of selves echoed across the mountains seas and valleys of our lands… people will become the only home you know.

Pieces of me etched into their hearts and under their skin and pieces of me as seeds growing into being in another human’s life.

☾

Portugal.

I flew to Portugal.

I am safe. I am happy. I am well.

I am in a cute 1-bed AirBnB parked in my favourite writing position while the grey clouds part to make way for promised sunshine later. In bed with pillows piled high behind me, my cat curled against my legs, a matcha to my right (growing cold while I type) on the bedstand and my journal and notebooks on the left side of me.

Ericeira, a place I love and have loved before, where I have friends, where sunshine and community are easy to come by, where I will move into an apartment in November.

Which reminds me, to remind you, before I continue…

---

✨ As we approach the final months of 2024, I have private mentoring spots available.

This is your invitation to close this year with intention and step into 2025 with clarity.

Success is measured in your willingness to be seen.

Whether you're seeking:

• Personal growth, emotional clarity, and life direction

• OR business alignment, purposeful strategy, and authentic visibility

...now is the perfect time to wrap up 2024 feeling clear, confident, and deeply connected to your path.

If your heart is saying yes, I'd love to explore working together. Send me a note at studio@viendamaria.com.

Only 4 spots are available — starting in November — onwards. ✨

---

Portugal because when I had to make a quick decision it made the most sense.

I will stay here until May, maybe longer, maybe forever. You never really know what will happen next in life, do you?

Plans get cancelled. Things change. People who you thought were constants in your life turn out to be just passing by. The dream life you are working towards takes on a completely different route. And I believe these things happen to remind us to let go and trust the ride. Accept that you won’t always have all the facts and that you may or may not understand all the reasons. Accept that you are just supposed to trust the process.

Some years are made for fighting shadows
some years are made for dreaming dreams
some years are made for wholly living
some years are made for falling in love
some years are made for heartbreak
and some years are the dark, rich spaces in-between that tie all the other years together.

This year has been the liminal space for dreaming dreams.

From this spot right here beside the rugged Atlantic Ocean, my dreams have taken an unexpected trajectory that fills me with unparalleled joy. The things that have brought me the most aliveness and richness in my life have been uncontrolled, uncensored, unsafe, unplanned, unknown…

I feel so inspired, excited and ready for the next steps in my life.

I’ll share more as they unfold.

Until soon,

Vienda x

---

I often answer your questions about me, but I actually really want to know more about you, too!

I’ll go first in the comments below. 🦋

1. Where do you live right now?
2. What’s the last book you read?
3. What’s your secret talent?
4. If you could do anything for work, what would it be?
5. Something you wish people told you about yourself?
6. First thing in the morning, the first thing you put in your mouth.
7. Cats, dogs or other/neither?
8. How many times have you been in love?
9. Your best natural beauty tip.
10. The thing on the very top of your ‘dream/wish list’?