It seems impossible to believe that Midsummer is upon us. We’ve spent nearly a quarter of the year in lockdown. For me, the blessing has been the pure enjoyment I have experienced watching Spring evolve into summer. My frequent walks in beautiful countryside, often under exquisite blue skies, meant that I was able to watch Nature unfolding before my eyes – celandines, blackthorn blossom, bluebells, daisies, buttercups, hawthorn, foxgloves, stitchwort,  ground ivy, selfheal, poppies, to name but a few.

Sometimes I paint, and following on from the creation of a large orange dinosaur for my grandson’s bedroom wall, I thought perhaps I’d like to express my experience of this strange time. Lockdown produced plenty of deprivation and loss, but as we already begin to see changes, the enforced quiet is slipping away from us, and I felt like memorialising the positives I was also able to find within that stillness. The resulting painting, which includes some of the wildflowers I named, brings me happiness, and in future will remind me of the joy to be found in amongst sadness.

So we’ve moved from Spring Equinox to Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year – my friend Sam has written a beautiful blog all about it, which you can read by clicking here. We took inspiration from her celebration suggestions, and went on a quiet picnic yesterday evening to reflect on what we would like to reap over the coming months, and what we would like to release. As we sat among the trees, near an ancient site, listening to the birds and watching the light slowly fade towards sunset, it felt magical indeed. Ancient myths tell of fairies coming to play with humans on the eve before Midsummer – I am sure they were dancing around us!

I pray that we allow the Earth to heal. Nature grows abundantly without our interference. Once more I add my plea to the collective that somehow we come to realise that our current ways of being are shifting us towards our own destruction. It is such a gift to experience life on this planet, but it’s too easy to forget how tenuous that life is unless we take time to pause, reflect and be grateful. And change our ways…

Midsummer blessings. May you have a peaceful and joyous day.