When the Leaves Turn Orange.

When I find the first brown shiny chestnuts in autumn it gives me a deep feeling of happiness. A chestnut in your coat pocket brings luck my grandma told me and it makes me particularly vulnerable to the beauties of autumn. Please take a look around you, isn't it just wonderful how the last warm sunbeams break through the slowly falling, brightly-coloured leaves? Isn't it just wonderful how the fragrant foliage of the trees rustles under your feet? Isn't it just amazing how the cooler air turns your breath into miniature clouds when you walk the streets? Do you remember how we made a silly game of it when we were children, running and bursting with laughter?

I simply love this ambiguous mixture of comfort and melancholy in autumn, the fusion of golden sunlight and grey mists. In autumn I always feel relaxed, laid-back somehow. Gone are any expectations of summer sunshine. People's complaints about the unbearable heatwave in summer have become silent as nature comes of age. Instead of hunting for a fresh breeze and beach weather I cuddle up at home. I fire up the fireplace, look for the book I always wanted to read when I have time, drink tea or wine, watch a nice film. From September onwards I dig out all the huge soft pillows, cosy blankets in warm tones, tealights and candles. Loads of candles and lights in fact. Loads! I try to bring on everything that warms the heart because this is the best way to look forward to wintertime. 

So, please do not think of having to get up in darkness for autumn steals us the bright hours and makes the days short. Instead, enjoy the relaxation and reflection when the year draws to a close.

Please do not complain about muddy boots in your hallway. Instead, just mop it up and whilst doing it recall the good old days when you joyfully measured out every single puddle on your way home from primary school.

Please do not grumble over the additional layers of clothing that mean more laundry for you, more effort and time to get dressed for chilly days. Instead, please think of all the opportunities you have with that! You can wear different shoes and boots to your skirts and long-sleeved dresses. Isn't that just nice? Heels always work summer and winter, do they not? And so do short skirts or skinny jeans. You can wear blazers and coats, tights in any conceivable colour and pattern. There will be cosy scarves and gloves waiting for you. Your eyes and cheeks will put on a natural but extra beautiful glow from the cold when you enter a room. How wonderful! 

Please don't worry about the tiredness in the morning. Feeling tired is quite normal in autumn. Your body will try to tell you "Hey, when it is dark and chilly outside I belong to my bed!" Unfortunately, your alarm clock, your work, and the rest of your world are not even close to consider such a thing as an agreement with your body's whining. Not at all.  They are in league with each other and "Out! out! out!" they merrily shout at you with a cheerfulness that really is hard to take! And yet, if you listen carefully to yourself, there is something that feels very different. Once you've made it out of bed the heaviness is gone. A miracle! Autumnal times make you feel less scampered, things are not as exhausting as they were in summer. Inside you there is suddenly an attentiveness and vigilance perceptible that you haven't noticed a couple of days before. Yes, this is the magic of the 'in between'. It is promise and anticipation that lie in not having summer anymore and not yet winter, don't you think?

What do we do with this marvellous season? Please look after yourself a bit. Now is the time that you have to spend more hours inside the house. Make this as comfortable a time as you can for you and the people with you. Please enjoy the serenity and peacefulness of autumn and open your heart to it. Believe me, allowing those gifts to devolve upon you will be like  a balm for your soul. Another good idea is to block a little  time for yourself. Just a few hours will be enough because 'me time' is so good for you. Try to do the things you love, once you have scheduled some time for yourself. You could go to a cafe that you love but where you won't see people that you meet frequently. So, it should not be your favourite cafe. To have some quality time you should not be disturbed unless you want to spend the time with these people, of course. Listen to songs you haven't heard for a long time. The music might awake memories in you which are a very private and precious treasure that will conjure a smile on your face. How about being creative? How about making a special Christmas card by your hand and actually send it to a beloved person? Would that be a good plan perhaps? I think it might and I will do it, for example.

But even more important, and this is why I am actually so insistent, is that the time you spend with yourself will directly pay off. You learn about yourself, for example. You can manage the daily flurry of activities much better. Having this time you will be able to look at your world, yourself, and the people around you from an aerial perspective. Doing this will give you the chance to an easier reflection of your own actions and behaviour and that of others. This contemplation is of invaluable benefit for you and the people you love. So, make it a ritual so that everyone can get used to it. The things you choose to do in your me-time, like painting or reading or just doing nothing, will make you so happy and pleased.  If you are happy and at peace with yourself you can make people happy too. Requesting time for yourself has nothing to do with being egoistic. At all. Do you know why? Time for yourself is a massive help for all the reasons I have just pointed out. There is another most countable fact, I think. If you avail yourself of free time, you will always make sure that your family gets the same privileges. Should they, for whatever reasons, not want to use them for themselves I know you will come up with a superb compensation for all of you to benefit from. That's simply great, you know. Just fantastic.

Tomorrow is Bonfire Night. Is not that a perfect day to start?
Please enjoy the fireworks and all the splendour it creates.
I'll be thinking of you, all my love to you.

Try to find a chestnut and put it into your coat pocket, will you? Please do. 

References: All photographs were taken by me. They mostly depict the beauty of my jogging path that I use quite frequently. This is where I live. They were captured from September 2017 to November 2018.

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