Month: October 2021

There are so many things we both love about autumn. There’s that first moment of autumn – usually around the beginning of September – when you step outside, take a breath, and inhale something crisp, clear and cold – and know that summer is over and autumn is here. Autumn always seem to arrive so suddenly, rather than the gradual transition that happens between other seasons. You start to notice the leaves slowly turning red, and gold, and see them drifting down from the trees and onto the pavement and beneath your feet. And you watch the birds as they make their way south – a feat that never seems less incredible, no matter how many autumns pass.

It also feels like a time of new beginnings – new term at school and university, the reminder of stiff new school uniforms, pencil cases full of sharp pencils, new things to learn and new people to know.

I love these words from Ali Smith about autumn –

“November again. It’s more winter than autumn. That’s not mist. It’s fog. The sycamore seeds hit the glass in the wind like – no, not like anything else, like sycamore seeds hitting window glass. There’ve been a couple of windy nights. The leaves are stuck to the ground with the wet. The ones on the paving are yellow and rotting, wanwood, leafmeal. One is so stuck that when it eventually peels away, its leafshape left behind, shadow of a leaf, will last on the pavement till next spring. The furniture in the garden is rusting. They’ve forgotten to put it away for the winter. The trees are revealing their structures. There’s the catch of fire in the air. All the souls are out marauding. But there are roses, there are still roses. In the damp and the cold, on a bush that looks done, there’s a wide-open rose, still. Look at the colour of it.”

Autumn, like every season, is a time for self-care. We’ve put together some ideas for connecting with yourself and the world around you over the next few months.

Don’t hibernate – embrace the outdoors. It’s so tempting when autumn starts to wrap yourself up in warm clothes and hibernate in your home until spring, avoiding the cold and darkness. But next time you look out of the window and think it’s too cold, rainy or dark to go out, try going against your instincts, throwing on some waterproofs, and stepping out into the autumn weather. Letting the wind and rain and cold flow over you rather than cringing away from it is something I learned to do when I took up winter swimming, Enjoy the feeling of being alive, in your body, in autumn. As the rain lashes your face and the wind whips at your hair, take time to be in the moment and focus on the here and now, pushing away any doubts and worries that might be troubling you and just letting nature wash over you.

Take up a craft like knitting or crochet. I was lucky enough to be taught to knit by my wonderful Granny, who was a complete knitting guru and always on hand to fix my mistakes. But if you don’t have someone to teach you, there are zillions of YouTube videos that will show you how, from the most basic stitches and beyond. Knitting has seen me through more than one life crisis – I started off with scarves and progressed to toys and random items (our home is filled with knitted crabs, bananas and strawberries!). Taking time to make things is such a mindful way to spend time, as your attention is focused on your creation. Your mind slows right down as you lose yourself to the rhythm of each stitch – it’s truly meditative. And if you want to know how to knit a prawn, you know where to find me 🙂

Forage for food. Early autumn is the perfect time to forage as there’s such an abundance of berries, herbs, nuts and fungi. Take a bag with you, and some secateurs or kitchen scissors, and visit your nearest green area to see what you can find – even urban parks often have hidden treasures, so you don’t need to go all the way out into the countryside – you might even be surprised at what you find in your own garden! An app like Seek is a great way of identifying what’s edible and what isn’t – take extra care with berries and mushrooms and the wrong type will make you feel pretty unwell. The Woodland Trust has a guide to what to forage month by month – just remember to only take what you need as you don’t want to upset the balance of the ecosystem your’e foraging in.

Bake something. Now that you’ve foraged all of that wonderful food, think about making a cake or some bread with your free, fresh ingredients. Try making our vegan breakfast bake with apples or Running on Real Food’s vegan blackberry crumble – or for something totally different, make some vitamin-packed nettle bread.

Embrace the change of autumn by making some resolutions. Yes, January is usually the time to make resolutions – but as F.Scott Fitzgerald once said, life starts all over again once it gets crisp in the fall. Maybe now is the time to try to give up a bad habit that you’ve never managed to lose in January, start a new sport (winter swimming is a brilliant one!) or promising yourself you’ll set aside a few minutes every day for self-care, such as yoga or a mindfulness meditation. Always set intentions with an open mindset – it’s ok not to achieve them, and there are no rules apart from the ones that you make for yourself about how long you give yourself to get there, or how many times you allow yourself to try.

Try this outdoor mindfulness exercise. Go and sit somewhere really quiet, maybe a bench in your local park, or in your garden if you have one. Just sit in silence for a moment and connect with your breathing, bringing awareness to your feet on the ground, finding a comfortable posture. Close your eyes and focus first on what you can hear – the sound of the wind, water running nearby, dogs barking, leaves crackling underfoot. You’ll notice that some of these sounds are constant, while others fade away. Then move on to what you can smell – perhaps the scent of a bonfire, the earthy smell of the leaves, the fir trees beside you. Open your eyes slowly and focus on what you can see – the beautiful colours of autumn, the leaves on the ground, the wind rustling the leaves left on the trees. And finally, choose something to pick up and hold – a nut fallen from a tree, or maybe a particularly crisp leaf on the ground. Notice the shape and colour object, running your hands over it and noticing the texture – is it wet, or dry? Hot or cold? Smooth or bumpy? If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the moment and enjoy this time you’ve given yourself to be fully immersed in the moment of where you are now.

If you liked this post, read our post about a good night’s sleep.