Only little more than a week and we’ll be hitting the autumn equinox on the 21st of September! On this day we’ll have an equal measure of light and dark and this means we can celebrate the Pagan holiday of Mabon. One Bren and I both love. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons, especially the period when the leaves begin to colour and you can enjoy those vibrant reds and yellows! But autumn is also a very wet season here in the Netherlands. One can wonder which season isn’t here, haha, but autumn is usually a bit more wet.

When the days grow shorter, we naturally tend to move more inward, both literally and figuratively speaking. We spend more time indoors, but this also gives us the opportunity to focus our attention inwards and do some introspective work with ourselves. We can start looking back on our year and the plans we had, checking whether we’re still on track, or not. This is the time when we can finish up on projects, or even start making plans for new ones.

Let’s cook

Autumn is also a great time to enjoy some slow cooking and baking. It’s the time when the kitchen can be a central place in your home, after spending time outside during the spring and summer months. We both love working in our kitchen and preparing food, whether it’s a hearty meal, baking fresh bread, or cookies! There’s just something about autumn that makes me want to spend more time in the kitchen. In olden times, the kitchen was usually a place where everyone gathered for a warm cup of coffee, or tea and enjoy a social moment with the rest of the family and loved ones.

There are tons of wonderful meals and snacks that you can prepare in your kitchen during this season. Stews and soups are great when it’s cold and dreary outside. Personally I love using the oven a lot for several meals. A nice tray bake, or potato wedges from the oven with some rosemary and other herbs can really enhance a meal. As I’m writing all of this, I realize that maybe I should start sharing some of my favourite autumn recipes on my blog soon. The takeaway from this is that cooking and baking are great ways to practice mindfulness and to be in the moment. Cooking kind of requires that of us, anyway. I love spending an hour to prepare an awesome, heartwarming risotto, for instance.

Focusing on the inside

Autumn is a great time to look back on the first part of the year. I usually make plans for the entire year and look back at how my projects are coming along. This year I tried a new approach with a monthly planner, but that didn’t really do it for me. As I’m currently helping with some other projects, I think it’s still a good time to look back on this year and consider everything that has transpired. We didn’t have a very smooth year, but we did weather a lot of storms, again. Now is the time to reflect on those events and forge ahead. And to start work on new and exciting things.

Recently, I’ve taken a greater interest in druidism and one of the areas of particular interest is the meditation techniques they use. I’m used to mindfulness meditation, which focuses on emptying our often so busy minds. The druids, however, have two different techniques, but their meditation also differs in the fact that they meditate on specific subjects. This comes in handy when you’re doing introspective work. More on this in a later blog!

Take some time to treat yourself and relax

Since Autumn ushers in a time of calm and spending more time inside, it’s also a great time to relax a bit more and taking things more slowly. In this modern age where a lot of people are plagued by overflowing agendas it’s a great idea to say “No” more often when people invite you to do things with them. Setting boundaries on your personal time is important. I think so many people feel that they need to jump through hoops to meet all kinds of demands from people, when deep down they really don’t want to, is really unhealthy.

So, I challenge you, if you feel duly addressed by my previous statement. Dare to choose yourself and free up that agenda by saying “No” more often. Try to slow down a bit more, just as the Earth does during this season and make yourself comfortable and cozy. For life is more enjoyable if you slow down more and stop participating in that rat race. True happiness is not gained from meeting everyone’s demands, it’s listening to your own needs and wants and living slowly and in the moment.

Have a good one!

Jeffrey