One day in January
I hope you are doing well and ready for a new year!
Thank you for being here and I really hope you will enjoy another year with new seasonal, creative, reflective and inspiring blogposts I’d like to share with you.
At the beginning of this new year I treated myself on a day out in Leuven, one of my favourite cities! I started the day at Abdij van Park (an Norbertine abbey) where I joined a guided morning silent walk. The guide began by reading some quotes about silence. What inspired me most was the following “ladder of silence” written by Wil Derkse.
“Every day half an hour of silence,
every week an evening of silence,
every month a silent day
and every year a silent week.”
It’s definitely something to ponder about how to integrate it in the year ahead. As I’m really sensitive to noise and have a huge need for silence so this might something worth practicing. But probably I’m not the only one who is longing for silence …. It’s so hard to find these days in our hustling and loud society, isn’t it? It really has become a luxury and one that can’t be bought.
Isn’t it funny that while one is supposed to enjoy the silence, it seems one hears the sounds even louder?! Not only the singing birds or the wind but squeaky shoes, heavy breathing or the scraping sound of a plastic raincoat from fellow walkers.
I really enjoyed the silent walk around the abbey on this sunny morning. It taught me that sounds are a part of life and I’ll have to deal with it wether I like it or not. But silence once in a while is so essential and beneficial and worth striving for.
From the abbey I walked to the center of Leuven to treat myself on a hot chocolate and a Three Kings pie in a cosy plant café. A place with a most beautiful tile floor in lovely shades of green which perfectly matched my shoes and tights! While sipping my hot chocolate, I took the time to write and do some planning for the coming year.
Winter is and ideal season to reflect, to plan and to get things sorted out. When we look outside on a winter’s day we can now clearly see the bare structures of the landscape and trees. It seems as if nature is teaching us that the important things of our lives are more visible too. In winter there isn’t as much distraction as in summer and it’s easier to see the things more clear. This can be really helpful in deciding what to change in the way we want to live this new year.
After having this calm and thoughtful break at the café, I continued my way to the Botanical Garden of Leuven. On my way to this peaceful place in the city I also visited my favourite bookshops. One of the books that caught my eye was ‘The bookshop on the hill’, a biographic novel by Alba Donati, and also ‘Meadowland’ by John Lewis-Stempel. I’m really enjoying these books right now on the dark winter evenings with a cup of herbal tea!
In the Botanical Garden I was on the lookout for the early green leaves and buds. And there they were… the first snowdrops! Tiny delicate and pure flowers, yet so brave to withstand the cold winter weather.
I ended my day out in the cinema where I watched ‘Le otto montagne’. Truly a most wonderful pearl, directed by a Belgian couple! I hugely recommend this movie if you would get the chance to see it. It’s based on one of the books by Paolo Cognetti. Beautiful cinematography, amazing nature views, a heartwarming story and authentic acting.
After this wonderful day out, where I could enjoy nature in different ways, I took the train back home, feeling refreshed and inspired. It was truly a great start of this new year!