Yesterday, on the last day of October I took a walk at French Regional Park. It was bright and sunny when I started out and I thought that I didn’t need my hat and gloves so I left them in the car. That was a mistake. Brrrr! When I had walked just far enough that going back for hat and gloves didn’t make sense, the wind picked up and my hands and ears began to feel like icicles.
Then this morning, on the first day of November I awoke to cloudy skies and thought, “What a gray day…”
It Feels Like November
Fortunately, as I write this post the clouds have moved on and the sky is a bright blue canvas with brightly shining sun. But the temperatures are still in the thirties. After our mostly warm fall, the cold is a shock to my body. It always seems easier to acclimate to the gradual spring warming than to the cooling of fall.
November is typically the cloudiest month of the year in Minnesota, with 60 – 80% cloud coverage during the month. I treasure the sunny days that we do have. And I am grateful that I don’t live in the Seattle area, which is one of the cloudiest places in the country.
When I was twenty years old I went to the island of Cypress to live with a Greek family there for 3 months. Every day there was bright, sunny, and warm, though by November the temperatures were cool enough that I had stopped my daily swims in the Mediterranean Ocean. Returning home to Iowa, where I grew up and went to college, in late November, I mourned the loss of everyday sunshine. It shocked me how much I missed the sunlight. Since that time I have sought out bright light and spaces.
In my home we have lots of windows and during the day I leave the blinds up and let the light come streaming in. And I try to spend some time outdoors every day.
Light is Healing
Not only is light is healing, it is necessary for our bodies’ physical and mental health. Taking time to be outdoors in the brightest part of the day helps the body in many ways. As the day-length shortens and cold arrives it’s a good time to create a plan for how you will spend time outside. Time in natural light and nature are two of the best medicines I know.
When I am Among the Trees
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”— Mary Oliver
Wishing you a light-filled November.
May you walk in beauty.
Note: I made all of the photos in today’s post with my phone camera.
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