"... before rebirth
comes decay
before beginnings
there are endings
before sunrise
must come sunset ..."
By the time this blog lands, September will have happened and, for me anyway, was over too soon. I want September to linger but here we are at its end. I love autumn and am happy to welcome it in, but I want to take a moment to celebrate September before it disappears for another year.
When I was working, this was always the time I took my main holiday. Even though I’m no longer going out to work, September still calls to me to down my tools and relax. Normally, it’s a time for camper van adventures, but this year, the poor old van has hardly moved from our drive. Instead, we’ve spent some time in Kenya, which I’ll save for another blog.
I only had a few days at home before I was off again, this time heading up to the familiar territory of Scotland. I’d signed up to attend an all-female retreat, in the middle of nowhere, to explore how to embrace my wild self. How could I resist such an invitation? I met with women, mostly strangers, who shared their stories and became friends. We were staying by a loch, where we were able to swim, walk through woodland, and play in a way I haven’t played since I was a young child. It was magical. The weather, of course, was interchangeable, but we had wonderful sweeping rain, glorious sunshine, clear starry nights, and wind that made the trees sing.
We were invited to fully embrace nature; to go outside and devote an unadulterated 45 minutes to noticing our immediate surroundings. It’s not something we do normally is it? Even if we are lovers of nature, we may appreciate it as we go about our lives; enjoy a beautiful view as we drive past, or take a moment to look up at a tree, or smell a flower. But 45 minutes? How many times do we give ourselves permission to just be with nature and focus purely on what we can see, hear, touch, smell or taste? I know I hardly ever do this. It was pure magic. I found a spot under a magnificent sycamore tree and I sat at the base of its trunk. It was raining and I could hear the rain pattering against the leaves, and my waterproof clothing. It reminded me of the sound of rain whilst lying under canvas as a child. I wanted to feel even closer to nature, so after a while, I lay spread-eagled under the canopy of leaves. I closed my eyes and listened to the rain, feeling the heavy drops on my face and hands. I felt fully alive and part of nature, rather than separate from it. It was truly transformative.
On other days, we went for a swim in the loch, and also hiked across a hill to a bothy and back. It occurred to me, on both occasions, how nature receives me, making space for me to be present with it: the mud giving way to my hiking boots, the water enveloping me. When you pay attention to nature, it rewards you a hundredfold.
Every women present at that retreat, of course, had their own story. I really enjoyed listening to other women sharing their experiences, hopes and fears. Autumn is an opportune time to think about shedding aspects of our lives that no longer serve us; prepare for the coming winter and ready ourselves for the challenges ahead. It is a time of reckoning, If you find that you struggle with the changing seasons, wanting to cling onto summer and all it represents, then nature can help. You need look no further for inspiration and guidance. Trees shed their leaves to preserve their energy for the colder months to come. Nature strips right back and takes a break. Plants don’t grow consistently throughout the year, but are seasonal. And we are too!
But we’ve forgotten this. We think we can keep going like machines, all year long. We all know, I think deep down, that we were not meant to live this way. No wonder we are all exhausted! Nature can show us the way, if we let it. All we need do is stop and pay attention. How hard can it be? Can you afford not to listen? I know I can’t.
