The morning after the Autumn Equinox the ground sparkles with sunshine reflecting in the dew. There’s a coolness in the air, and a hint of mist dances surreptitiously among the trees. It’s hard to believe the hot, dry days of summer have finally passed us by for this year, but the change is palpable. I love Autumn. As a child I used to anticipate returning to school with crisp new uniform and shiny shoes, even though the novelty usually wore off on the first morning! It’s the perfect time for walking in the woods, noticing the changing colours, the dampness under the trees, carpets of fallen leaves, shiny conkers and bright red berries. All this, especially when it happens under a clear blue sky and sunshine, is truly blissful ♥

Equinox; the time when the day and night are equal in length and Nature is in balance – well arguably Nature is always in balance! It’s time for the continuing harvest, reaping the rewards of earlier work. Berries were profuse this year, and apples are still abundant everywhere. In the garden I have a few still-ripening tomatoes, a couple of corns on the cob, some rather ropey looking spinach and chard, gangly yellow courgettes, beetroot, parsnips and artichokes. I’m so grateful that in spite of constant slug and snail attacks and the ever-diminishing amounts of rain, we have still managed to grow a few vegetables. I’m sure this is a skill we could all benefit from learning as our food supply chain feels ever more dependent on technology and the playing out of world events… every little helps.

For the same reason, I continue to value my local community. It’s my belief that fostering connection, co-operation and even love between those who live closest to us can only help bring harmony to our fractured world. Maybe the way forward is to consider our own skills and what we can offer to those around us – sometimes it’s a small thing that can make a big difference. My strength is being able to facilitate conversations to help people to become more confident around death and dying. And if you live locally and would value it, I’m offering free support if someone in your family is dying.

As our thoughts turn inwards at this time of year, and we begin to prepare for winter’s rest, it can be a great time to catch up with all those “Oh, I’ll do it one day” jobs.  Something which can really help us, and also the people we love, is to take a little time to think about what is important to you, and how you might like to be treated if you could no longer advocate for yourself – and then write it down. There are books around to help you, and websites where you can find forms such as Advance Statements and Decisions. It makes life easier for everyone if you have a Will. Completing Lasting Powers of Attorney for both “Health & Welfare” and “Finance” is both straightforward and relatively inexpensive if you do it yourself through the Office for the Public Guardian website and can prove invaluable if they’re needed. If you would like further information, please feel free to contact me and I’ll happily help where I can.

For anyone who would like to dive a little deeper, I’ve been running workshops on The Lost Art of Simple Dying. We look at what happens during the dying process, understand why that’s no longer familiar to us, learn how to trust ourselves to be our loved ones’ experts and dip into simple skills from ancient wisdom to support their deaths in a calm and confident way, whilst remembering to look after ourselves. Please contact me if you’d be interested in attending a future workshop.

Wishing you a joyous autumn ♥