Picture taken from a walk in Scotland last month with Jen (a wonderful writer, sister in law and coach!) who’s started a new life by a beautiful Scottish Loch.
My friend recently shared a podcast with me that made me think about lots of things but in particular in our 40s the need to slow down and come home to yourself after the busy pursuits of your 20s and 30s. It’s funny really as its something that has popped into my mind over the past year – a quiet desperation to slow everything down, to be more wise about how I spend my time, a nagging feeling to be with my family more and to focus on career goals less. And her words and this podcast helped to cement what I have been intuitively sensing was right for me.
It kind of feels like the worst time to try to slow down though.. with the financial needs of caretaking, mortgage, bills, still fairly high social expectations.. means that work and wages tend to come first often not leaving much space for the quiet time we desperately need. For myself though I know I must prioritise quiet space, time in nature, time watching Ted grow.
This morning I woke up after a disturbed night of period pains, Ted got us up too early and before I opened my eyes I groaned inwardly lamenting my lack of sleep and thinking how hard the day was going to be because of it. However I must have been filled with soothing summer solstice energy and as I opened my eyes to the sunshine outside my bedroom window I smiled. As I was tired and achy, I moved slowly through the house, making a big pot of coffee. I sat on the settee in the morning sun playing a game with Ted before school. After drop off I took a slow dog walk through the woods, the air so sweet with the smell of summer flowers in full bloom. I’ve been trying to do a short yoga practise in the morning thanks to the encouragement of Donna Southwell and I really enjoyed a few sun salutations and a short meditation with the solstice sun on my face. Now I’m sat in the studio with sunlight streaming in and next to me is a ceramic piece I’ll continue working on until school pick up this afternoon.
Theres no excitement in my day other than the peace and joy that comes with moving slowly in the world, appreciating the smallest of things and feeling grateful for all you have. Years ago I would have thought how boring it all was but today there is a luxurious quiet in between each sentence I type, the comfort of the sun warming my skin and the silent thrill of moulding the clay into new life.
I hope you too can find some moments of quiet, to listen to yourself, your needs, what you really want for you. To let your nervous system be still in a world that demands it should always be on high alert. Summer has only arrived because of the downtime of Autumn and Winter and the slow emersion of Spring. We too need to regularly down tools and retreat so that we can blossom into who we’re meant to be.
Thanks for reading,
Marie x
Below are some close ups that capture the smallest details of my recent Animal Diorama ‘Dove Otter and Frog bring Mother Cow a pendant of treasures’
My work is about feeling compassion for all animals. It’s also about slowing down and appreciating the seemingly small details in nature and how collectively those details create the depth and wealth of the natural world around us. I hope to reveal to the viewer the intricacy of natures tiny details alongside that feeling of awe and glorious overwhelm whilst in Mother Natures presence.
