October musings

Last month I came across a poem called "Storing September" by Elizabeth Rooney, and I love the idea of storing the best of each month. October has been rich so far.

We have just come back from a 12-day trip to the north-west and north-east of the UK. We packed in a lot during our time away - Blackpool, Gretna Green, Dumfries, Eastriggs, Cove, Cairnsmore of Fleet, Galloway, Langholm, Bamburgh, Seahouses, Lindisfarne, Whitby, Cayton Bay, Scarborough, Thirsk, Durham, Robin Hood Bay, Bridlington...

It will take some time to process all the different experiences and impressions, but one thing was obvious: There are as many ways to connect creatively with a place as there are people.

I am looking forward to sharing about my discoveries in future blogposts. For now, it is time to go on long walks.

It is one of the best ways I know to process thoughts and feelings. I love the way Rebecca Solnit puts this: "The rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through a landscape echoes or stimulates the passage through a series of thoughts. This creates an odd consonance between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it..."

Walking also helps me to connect with the changing of the seasons. Yesterday a maple leaf and a beech nut reminded me that there is beauty in letting go.

What practices help you to reflect and connect?