Category: Uncategorized

On blogging

I’ve been in this peaceful corner of the internet for nine months now.

I wanted a place to write, to explore ideas, to experiment, to see what this blogging thing was all about.  To share, maybe, if anyone found my blog.

I started out thinking I’d write about creativity, and how to fit it into a busy life, about nature, and the importance of connecting with the natural world.

I ended up writing poetry.  Poems about everyday life; the first snowdrops of spring, anxiety before a hospital appointment, the first canoe trip of the year, tai chi.

I luxuriated in language.   I wrote about things that I don’t usually talk about, feeling safely anonymous among millions of bloggers.

I haven’t been trying to promote my blog, but somehow I now have some followers.

♥ Thank you! ♥

I follow some of the people who have commented or followed my blog and now every weekend my inbox contains poetry and stories.  Some of my favourites so far:

The Cedar Journal – adventures of a Cedar Canoe

Elle Guyence, who writes a beautiful poem every week

Paperbark Writer Australian nature meets science & art, which combines many of my favourite things in one blog!  Actually I’ve been following this blog for a few years now, it’s really inspiritational and makes me want to visit Australia again.

 

So, I’m going to keep on writing, exploring, experimenting and reading and see what the next nine months bring for Life In The Fresh Air!

Stillness in movement

Can you find the stillness in movement?

Not by searching, but by the experience

of becoming aware of your body

as you move through this world.

Not by trying, but by doing.

At home within yourself,

not striving, not searching,

not analysing, not judging,

not doing.

Just moving,

until you sense the stillness within.

How’s your nature connection?

According to research, people are more likely to care for the environment if they have a connection to nature, rather than just knowing facts about wildlife and the environment.  And lots of people don’t have this connection.

I have a deep connection to nature. I find it hard to imagine that it’s possible not to be emotionally involved with the natural world, not to care about it, not to need to spend time outdoors. 

My day can be transformed by the sight of a robin outside my office window, by the dark silhouette of a tree against a winter sky, by the play of light on water, by the glimpse of a flower growing amongst concrete.  

I’m connected to landscapes too, I greet my favourite mountains like old friends, and certain landscapes make me feel deeply at home even if I’ve never been there before. 

I don’t always love being outdoors.  I’m happy to get inside to escape wind, rain and cold. I’m not a fan of wasps, ticks or other bitey insects. I like to have a cosy indoors to retreat to. 

I’ve always felt that being outside and spending time in nature is good for me, not just for the physical exercise, much more than that; good for my whole being.

There is now lots of research that shows that spending time outdoors, in green spaces, helps improve health and mental wellbeing.  It certainly makes me feel good.

Not everyone feels a strong connection to nature, to the outdoors, as this blog I read today explains.

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Have you connected with nature today ?

Open Plan Office Blues

When you open the office door in the morning to be greeted by beige and grey,

Dry warm air and the smell of computers

And yesterday’s lunches

And your heart sinks, shrivels and goes into hiding.

–

When your desk and the space around you is the smallest size it could legally be,

When you have no choice of whether or not you can sit by the window

And anyway the window might not even open,

And the view, if you have one, is the side of another office, or a road, or a block of flats.

–

When your senses are assaulted by the sound of phonecalls and the tapping of keyboards

And you feel yourself shrinking, contracting, trying block it all out,

And you wonder why you can’t concentrate,

And your mind runs around on the same old wheels, dreaming of a way out.

–

When others around you are beavering away

Seemingly oblivious to the distractions and ugliness,

And you wonder what is wrong with you and why you don’t fit in

And how on earth you can cope with this for another 30 years.

–

When you sit in a room with 50 people, but barely have a conversation for fear of creating too much noise,

And you feel trapped in a cage,

And you think you must be too sensitive, not good enough, not trying hard enough,

Just remember, escape is possible.

–

You’ve got the open plan office blues.

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(Yes, I’ve been there, and yes, I did escape!)