A Thought for October

“… going out, I found, was really going in.” John Muir

Autumn has finally arrived here in the UK. Crisp, cold mornings, blustery winds and showers. Leaves turn red and golden, start to collect in drifts in the streets.

The instinct to wrap up, to stay home, gets stronger; we return to warmer, softer clothes; we layer, we slow down. We seek comfort in soups and stews, in seasonal vegetables and fruit.

Spiced apples, baked potatoes.. the instinct to nurture grows, to care and to love.

In a year that has changed all of our lives, there is a call now to show a softer side, to open to vulnerability, to a new strength. To dare to care, to dare to stand up for what matters; to reassess where and how we spend our time and our energy. We return to the deepest of values: love of family, of friends, of nature.

We have an opportunity, now, to become something new, to change how we live and love. To accept this new pace and to grow in new ways.

To slow down, to rethink.

To take time.