Introducing 'Foraging for the Soul': Beginning with some wisdom in the winter woods.
We are still very much in the heart of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. Enthusiasm for the 'New Year New Me' may have dwindled somewhat as we realise the same person has turned up for 2022 😂. I was inspired by Fearne Cotton's honest interview with Dr Chatterjee on his podcast Feel Better Live More:
'I think the only resolution worth making is that you're going to be nice to yourself'
- Fearne Cotton
I want to be especially kind to myself this year and use practices that help in this uncertain landscape we live in. For me, one such practice is solitude in nature. Having some time to be alone, be still and be in the natural world and ponder what comes up and how it speaks to me. This is what my blog will focus on... and I start with the winter woods.
The Cornish woodlands in mid-winter have given me some good food for thought. If I am still for long enough there is always some wisdom to discover when observing nature. The woods might look stripped back but the wild is doing its thing: hibernating, resting, recycling, removing, respecting the cycles and seasons. Leafless trees mean there is more light in the woods in winter, more mushrooms, more expansiveness and space, leaving room for what is to come in due season. It's the art of subtraction, of less is more and trusting life exists within and will surface at the right time. I am seeing the wild already springing to life with Nettle tops, Common Sorrel, Three Cornered Leeks and today I saw a blanket of Lesser Celandine leaves with just one or two yellow stars flowers sparkling out... All of this promises warmth and light to come.. and every year the onset of spring brings me hope, optimism and a deep sense of awe and wonder at it all. I makes me endlessly curious too.
So this blog series will be me geeking out and foraging for sustenance via the hedgerows, cliff tops, beaches and woodlands in Cornwall and using the book of nature to guide and nourish the body, mind and Soul.