Wandering thoughts like whirling leaves
Have you also enjoyed this glorious autumn season? Now we're almost at the end of November and many trees have already shed their leaves. Although it still looks amazingly golden when the sun is shining on the warm yellow leaves of the beeches.
“Autumn, you blush my heart with a beauty that travels through my dreams year-round.”
Every autumn again, I'm fascinated by all these leaves whirling around and performing one and final dance before touching the ground. Making a soft carpet to protect the rich soil from the freezing cold in winter. And comes around spring, these beautiful leaves have been changed into humus to enrich the soil and make a fertile base for new green sprouts and fresh greenery.
Isn't this a most wonderful process? And as a nature lover, I love to muse upon the lessons we can learn from it. So here are some of my wandering thoughts…
We're only a few weeks away from all the kitch and excess which often accompanies the festive holidays in December. As an introvert and high sensitive person, I try to avoid the shops and cities this time of year. Just as nature has come to rest, I want to slow down and focus on what really matters and live at a natural pace.
The end of the year is for many of us a time of taking stock of the past year, isn't it? And with good intentions we settle into the new year. But why should we wait until December to be grateful for what has been, for what we have, to enjoy the small moments, to be together with friends and family? To take solace in the gentle rhythms of ritual, in ceremonies of the ordinary.
Especially in our part of the world there's this constant need for more, for bigger, for better. It seems as if we have endless wish lists while we belong to one of the richest people on this planet. What more could we need or wish for? Maybe some things that can't be bought with money?!
Could it be possible to embrace a slower life, to live intentionally, to make sustainable decisions and be thankful for what we already are and have. To just ‘count your blessings’, as they would say in the UK.
This constant longing for more, better and bigger and the urge for perfection in our current society leaves us empty, frustrated, stressed and burned out. What if we just would let go of this struggle, like the golden leaves whirling down from the trees?
And I believe there’s also another struggle some of us wrestle with, at least I do. It's the one of our wired world. In 1994 Sven Birkerts predicted that in a decade or so the electronic revolution would have changed our world beyond recognition: "We will be swimming in impulses and data- the microchip will make us offers that will be hard to refuse.” I think he’s right, isn't he?!
We click through an endless stream of Internet links, can't live without Google who is our best friend, multitask in numerous media, check our e-mail every few hours and our social media even more frequent. Every single minute of our time we are occupied by what we see and read on our screens. We're bombarded with hundreds of opinions and images every moment of our day. Is there still room for silence, for quiet thoughts?
Actually, the internet culture is only a surface issue. I think our problem is much more fundamental. This deeper, more basic issue can be summed up in one word: distraction. We all have noisy hearts and it's so, so very difficult to be quiet. We have a constant wandering mind longing for the next distraction or input.
I notice the struggle I'm having with using Instagram. It's so easy to check it in a moment of boredom, to post something inspiring to compare with the feed (the word itself says enough, doesn't it?!) I've seen. It only encourages the need for perfection. It's so painful to notice what we've lost by letting our life be ruled by our screens.
When I'm going for a walk, it makes me so sad when I see someone walking with his head down and looking on their phone. Have they noticed the fallen leaves, the blue sky, the texture of moss, all the different colours of the leaves, the squirrel high in the tree? And at the same time, I catch myself on trying to capture nature's beauty, only for a perfect post on Insta. I'm not completely living in the moment as my mind is so often occupied by what and how to share.
So I've decided to make some changes. I removed the app from my phone and won't share any stories anymore at the moment. I will only add, hopefully, meaningful content on my page related to my work, nature and conscious living via my desktop.
I'm from a generation who still remembers how it was to live without a smartphone, tablet or digital overload. And sometimes I deeply long for this time again. But as we now live in this digital world it's up to us to decide how to deal with it and how much impact it can have on our daily lives.
So how can we get back a little of this real life, nostalgia and enchantment without digital devices? How can we savour this coming winter season in a natural and intentional way?
I'd like to share some things I'm planning to do:
reading poetry: I love taking the time to read the beautiful poems of Mary Oliver and celtic blessings by John O’Donohue
making a wish list: I've started writing a wish list for October and November. I haven't done everything but that's fine. It isn't about goals that need to be achieved. It's only a list with seasonal suggestions to slow down and to enjoy the beauty and natural abundance of the season.
If you're curious what was on my list… making jam with pear and cinnamon, writing real letters or cards to friends, drying flowers from the garden, making long walks in the woods, collecting seeds, baking a sweet treat in the weekends, making myself a cup of real hot chocolate with a hint of cinnamon, reading inspiring books while drinking sips from a huge pot of herbal tea.
consuming less: I want to try to make most of the gifts myself or buy them on flea markets and wrap them beautifully with handmade cards and porcelain details.
making my own festive decorations: This weekend I will collect and forage evergreens to make wreaths and to decorate our home and my studio for winter in a natural and green way. I'll add dried orange slices, Clematis vitalba and other dried flowers.
fairylights and lighting candles: is there something that gives a more magical atmosphere? It's simple and easy but just so cozy and inviting to embrace the winter season.
taking time to rest and sleep: as nature is going into hibernation, so can we. Winter is a season to slow down, to minimize our consumptions and nest. Time to shed the non-essential and rest, like the trees are doing. I love going to bed early on these dark days and read a little before sleeping until the rising of the sun.
reading books: in the evening you can find my in my favourite chair with burning candles, some classical music in the background, a good book and my cup of tea. There's a whole pile of books I want to read this winter. And I'll definitely put my phone away so I won't check it while reading. I completely want to be merged in the stories I read and being lost in another world for a few hours.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my wandering thoughts and that it might have inspired you to really savour the winter season which is around the corner.