Bleak Beginning of Winter, Grasp the Nettle & Ex-seed-ingly Good Presents

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
28^th November 2020

Bleak Beginning of Winter

Despite loving my life and my job, and the fact that I am usually to be found outdoors doing something in all sorts of weather, November always knocks me sideways.  It is always my good friends that remind me that it is an annual occurrence, as I start to panic that it is the onset of something far more debilitating than a seasonal transition.

Of course SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder – is a real thing.  MIND describes it as ‘a type of depression that you experience during particular seasons or times of year.  It’s common to be affected by changing seasons and weather, or to have times of year when you feel more or less comfortable. For example, you might find that your mood or energy levels drop when it gets colder or warmer, or notice changes in your sleeping or eating patterns.

But if your feelings are interfering with your day to day life, it could be a sign that you have depression – and if they keep coming back at the same time of year, doctors might call this seasonal affective disorder or ‘seasonal depression’.

You can find out more at www.mind.org.uk

I’m not sure that I suffer from SAD or if it is just the more practical aspects of November that floor me.  I am always tired after a busy and energetic spring, summer and autumn, the orange glow of autumn has turned into a muddy brown, the days are shorter and the little respite of an hours extra daylight in the mornings after the clocks go back at the end of October has ended.  It’s headlights and heaters on the way to work and the way home.  The cottage smells of damp clothes as I continually try to dry copious amounts of waterproofs, and everywhere is slippery.

Funnily enough, although still wintery, I think December is a slightly easier month as a lot of it is absorbed by Christmas, it heralds the shortest day and the end of the year. January is often tough but it is the Bleak Mid Winter, which is expected and sort of okay. February is a shorter month (although only by two days, admittedly) and we are also on the edge of spring by then.  It is always November that always catches me unawares.

I appreciate I sound a but negative about it all, but I think it is actually a positive thing to realise (or be reminded) that all those things are very real, and as my therapist (yes, really) used to say – they are appropriate emotions.

I recently put a similar post on a social media site and was inundated with people identifying with the ‘doldrums’, as they used to be called.  A more eloquent friend called it ‘the foothills of depression’.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you can talk about it and be kind, to yourself and others who are brave enough to share their own winter-driven woes.  Life is full of ups and downs; it’s not about controlling them but how you control your reactions and responses to them, which is important.

Of course, it is our natural rhythm to hibernate or at least slow down during the winter months. It’s what nature does – has it’s dormant period – but these days most people are far removed from this natural way of life.  And those who are relatively feral and should know better, (ie: me) obviously forget!

So, if you are feeling a bit bleak, and bearing in mind it is an ‘unprecedented year’ and a difficult time of year for many, I hope this will remind you that it’s good to talk – and walk.  I highly recommend both. Nature helped a huge amount of people during the initial lock down, but don’t forget it is always there for us, not just during a pandemic.  It is the Natural Health Service, and even during the dormant months, there is still so much to see, to appreciate and to explore.

Grasp the Nettle

‘Plant Consciousness’ is the vocation or ‘calling’ of a wonderfully inspirational couple, Emma and Davyd Farrell. Their passion is to promote healing with the conscious intelligence of plants and they describe Plant Consciousness as a ‘philosophy for life and a way of living in deeper harmony with nature for physical and mental health, emotional balance, spiritual vitality and the understanding of our individual place in the world’.  I am hugely grateful that our paths have crossed several times along our individual journeys and I can’t recommend their ethos and intentions highly enough.

As well as offering workshops, retreats, plants diets and training, they have also developed their own Apothecary and were kind enough to send me a bottle of Nettle Seed Tincture last week.  Recommended to help with exhaustion and fatigue, lack of motivation, foggy mind and difficulty dealing with adverse situations, it sounds like it should be on prescription for us all at the moment.

Find out more at www.plantconsciousness.com. And you can also subscribe to their Wisdom Hub TV Channel to watch their insightful teachings, interviews and to keep up to date with workshops and courses they offer.

I can’t think of a better time to tune into the wisdom of Nature, or better people to guide you.

Ex-seed-ingly Good Presents

As promised, I have another Christmas present idea for you, and one that you can pop in post whilst there is still time. Seeds! Brits have apparently spent nearly £4 billion on gardening during the pandemic as they discovered the joys, and challenges, of transforming their outdoor space into a little oasis of peace and calm, and/or growing their own veg.

So what better than sending your friends and family packets of seeds this Christmas to inspire them to Keep Calm and Carry On Gardening next year.  You can create your own message around the seeds too.

Forget me Nots, speak for themselves, but what about Hap-Pea Christmas, Ghosts of Christmas Parsley, Have a Kale Yule, Happy Christmas Old Bean (choose from lots of different varieties of bean, including broad bean for those who have been binge watching box sets, or runner beans for those who have managed to stay motivated).

And how about my favourite sweet pea with the message, “Wishing You a Happy Christmas and I hope that 2021 is Allbutt Blue for you”.