Some Thoughts on Beginning

 Our world is full of rush; of push and pull and the rhythms of different energies. Of work, play, outside, inside, home and away, family, friends and the rushing racing tide of time. Within this continuous movement, there is one thing that remains constant; the natural world. It can serve as both reward and inspiration for family life, being constantly in a state of flux, the ever changing seasons give us an awareness of the cycles of life and the passing of time; this is the rhythm of the earth. By tuning into the heartbeat of nature and the seasons, we can find curiosity and comfort, play and peace, mystery, magic, adventure and our own sustenance. Living with the earth rather than from it can allow us to be free to explore and experience, and to be immersed in all the wonders of nature that exist right outside our front and back doors.

Living in a city in Middle England, our day to day lives still shift with the seasons. The cold days send us seeking woolly jumpers hats and gloves as we go outside to see our thoughts made visible  as our breath appears; the rains call for wellingtons and puddle jumping adventures in our local park; spring brings different birds to our table and we search for bulbs, blossoms and buds, and summer sends us waterside to see the life that flows with the beautiful river that meanders her way through the heart of our city. These are the rhythms of the environment, of the place we call home. Our activities shift accordingly, from holding our energies within our four walls, to seed sowing, harvesting, to creating and clearing space so that the cycle can begin once more.

With the earth as our guide, we feel connections and nourish our sense of place, of time, of our community and of our people ~ our tribe. We can witness miracles, new life in buds, the growth of seeds, the light reaching longer into our days, then at harvest time, turning again to completion, death, darkness, then renewal; and so it continues. Through noticing and being with these rhythms, we learn of ourselves, our people and our earth.

In our family, the pages of a calendar turn quickly. Projects, activities and dreams play their parts in equal measure with the more challenging aspects of injuries, illness, death and birth. Daily work and adventures fill our time, and as we notice the turning of the seasons we can share the energies of the natural world, celebrate the beauty of its changes. Perhaps we can also seek some respite from the stressful energies of modern living in the depths of local woodlands, find comfort in turning the soil, and feel peace in the stories of the stars. Maybe through being with the seasons in this way we can really begin to know  and see each other too, in moments of stillness, awe and wonder.

The seasons are difficult to define and are ever shifting; they are glorious, intricate, challenging and wonderful. Just when we think we know what they are all about, they have a habit of changing. Seeking, exploring and being in nature helps to keep us really looking at things in new ways; our connections can give us a renewed sense of play and adventure that allow us to share these wonders with our children.

If we slow down and allow ourselves to be with the seasons, they in turn can slow us down too. In grounding ourselves in the earth’s ever changing ways, maybe we can find our centre. We can be completely present, yet lost in moments of delight; a frost encrusted spider’s web, a conker garnered as a pocket treasure, a shell dancing beneath the flowing path of a wave, a feather rising the wind. With these things we feed our souls and this is a great gift to share with children, and can serve as a guide to help them to find their own place in the world.

Connecting our families with the earth as it rides a course around the sun for a year, leads us in the spin of a seasonal dance. In Oxfordshire, the seasons are not always well defined, or extreme and different; yet sometimes their subtleties reveal a beauty of their own. The pieces that will follow are written with the landscape of my own family in mind, and the celebration of the seasons in our own places is as unique as the places themselves. When we bring our awareness to our own places, and we notice the earth’s changes, we become aware of something larger than ourselves. We become connected and we become humble too, at the splendour of the planet that we call home.

Being in tune with the changes of the earth can connect us and create catalysts for creativity, play, exploration and togetherness. In sharing family time in this awareness we may get lost in the wonders of our back garden, take joy in muddy puddles, and navigate our parks and woodlands and other wild spaces with a renewed sense of adventure. May we find beauty and the courage we need to be with the earth!