October Mornings

When I woke up this morning, the air was chilly, the windows damp with condensation. There was the tiniest hint of frost on the grass outside when I went out to feed the chickens and that damp autumny smell in the air.

Sat sipping a cup of chai to warm me through. Listening to the bird song and pulling the blanket a little tighter around me.

There is something beautiful about these first chilly Autumn mornings. It’s still light when I wake up, it’s not so cold getting out of bed is something you have to work up to, and the world still has lots of green.

I’m not made for the long, cold, wet winters we get here, yet Autumn fills me with a yearning…. years of Autumn meaning new school years and fresh starts make this feel like time for change. The pull to draw inwards, to focus less on doing and more on being. A calling to make plans and put those plans into action. To take steps on a new path.

I’m not somebody who thrives on constant social contact. I enjoy time to myself, I don’t like to be bombarded with people all of the time. I love a good chatter with my friends, but small talk with acquaintances I can live without. I find surrounded by others, I start to lose myself.

The busy pace of summer often leaves me drained, as much as I love the warm days and opportunities for adventure. Now, though, cocooned in my safe haven, I can unfurl and refind myself. I can hear my own voice and remember who it is I am.

The older I get, the less I can pretend to be who I am not, the less I am willing to plaster on a smile, or listen to mindless gossip, stretch my boundaries or put up with nonsense from others.

Learning to listen to who we are and what we need means we can be true to ourselves, we can put in place practices that support what we need and can avoid {as much as we can} things, people and situations that don’t work for us.