Finding light as the nights draw in
A quest for comfort as the nights grow colder, discussing nature, saunas, bio-ethanol fires and autumn wreaths and how colour can calm us.
As an adult I'm begining to realise there are lots of things I could actually do to make the change in seasons an enjoyable time.
Nature time
When we frolic daily as sugested by Emily Florence in her substack “A daily walk is a guaranteed mood-lifter and perspective-giver.” we are reminded that it’s autumn.
I think as we spend more and more time tucked away indoors or glancing upon paved gardens with astro turf - we simply forget.
Frolic we must, even if it’s a walk around the garden, or an hour on a bench with a friend chatting as the children climb trees. Reminding ourselves it’s autumn also gives us the sense of peace that it’s OK to slow down.
Lights 4 Fun Autumn Wreath currently on sale
Decorate for the season
We simply never used to do it in England and now it’s becoming more common place and we’re embracing the trend. The very idea of an autumn wreath, pumpkins in the house rather than just outside and changing the cushions on the sofa used to perplex me and have me making snide remarks. Yet as I age I discover the sense in it. We spend so much time indoors now rather than outdoors and it can be difficult to remember that it’s a month of slowing down and letting ourselves settle for the winter.
The simple act of bringing nature in, to your house in order to celebrate, is a joy giving act.
Find more light
Each Autumn, as the days turn cooler and we stop mainling to the beach everyday, I notice that whenever I doodle- I draw endless flames. I crave candles and our old fireplace in the big lofty house where we pulled mattresses infront of the fire and drank hot chocolate, got out the colouring pens and listened to The Penderwicks on Everand. Like a moth to the flame- I simply can’t get enough of flickering flames. Yet in this fireplace-less house, no LED lightbulb, TV flickering image or overhead light will satiate.
The roar of a fire becomes a craving I can’t seem to fully satisfy. ‘I’ll just buy more candles’ I said the first year in the new fireplace-less new house and then again on the second, on the third I invested in one of those bio-ethanol fireplaces. Except this house doesn’t have any draughts and so one minute we are happily looking at the flame and the next we’re all gassed out & freezing whilst simultaneously asking to open the french windows in addition to the windows and it kind of defeats the object. So if you were wondering……….. it’s just a no for indoors as far as I’m concerned.
And yet our bodies crave these flames - not just for the source of heat but also for how much they calm us. So how do we bring more of fire’s power into our lives?
Invest in items that give our bodies the colours of the flames that we so desparately crave in the darker night.
Firelike tones of yellow and orange can actively change our mood. These oranges remind us of our nature and helps us overcome fear as we become more sucked into our devices and loose sense of ourselves. The yellows remind us of our joy and as such help us overcome worries which often plagues us in the dark more. I love how this new audio resonates on Instagram. In wondering how to bring more of these firelike colours into my home without redecorating I’m thinking of investing in yellow and orange glasswear so that the water I drink can be infused with these powerful colours. Have you seen any in your travels you find beautiful?
Sunbeds and Sauanas
We have the luxury of a sauna. A few years back I attended a hen do in Helsinki. This included a stint in Finnish sauna with wonderful women who embraced their different shapes and sizes and drank beer and whisked each other’s bodies with birch branches and then ran like crazy loons from the searing heat into the freezing waters of the Gulf of Finland. I really can’t remember a time I enjoyed quite so much as that evening. On my return, after endless recounting of the events of that evening, my husband bought me a wonderful Healthmate sauna which we all make a beeline for as the seasons change. It’s a wonderful affair and has changed locations no less than three times since and has remarkably travelled incredibly well. It’s like an old friend from childhood- the infra red wavesmatch the body’s so it is deeply comforting and warm and a stint inside it always leaves one feeling invigorated.
I have a friend whose daughter uses sunbeds during the darker months to keep her sanity and I wonder if the benefits of the light might outweigh the negative effects of the sunbed if you were to keep the UV levels low? Much like in Finland where the pregnant ladies don’t stop saunaing. As it is considered far more detremental to theirs’ and the babys’ health to stop having saunas than to continue!
What do you do to keep yourself sane and celebrate in the darker months?
Lovely!