Art by Bettina Baldassari
WELCOME NOVEMBER …
There is something about November that says ‘keep going’.
We are not quite through the year, yet the finish-line looms.
We are faced with the ‘season of joy’,
and yet many of us wonder where we will find it.
And I think November is a great time to take a little peek behind you,
and see just how much you’ve done.
To take stock of your achievements, your endurance,
your survival.
To rest, reinforce, before the festivities envelope us all.
Before beautiful new beginnings.
And most importantly, November is a time to seek out light.
As the natural order darkens, we must find it ourselves.
We must do whatever we can to brighten our day,
our home, the world.
Seek out light wherever you can my friends,
and pay no heed to those who condemn your sparkle.
You are much-needed.
Keep showing up, in that special way only you can do.
And show up for yourself too
(which can sometimes mean not showing up at all).
This year has been hard.
Again.
But beautiful.
Again.
As is the way of life.
As is the way of life.
Donna Ashworth
Wonderful words, and a poignant reminder. Xx
ReplyDeleteSometimes we all need reminding don't we. :-)
DeleteThank you Sue for posting the picture and poem. The words really touched me. It’s been a challenging year health wise and the words reminded me to remember how I coped throughout my treatment. So thank you. I always find the little cards and words you post meaningful.June
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it resonated with you. This year has been so hard for so many of us hasn't it, it's time to relax into it and see the year out gently in my opinion. xx
DeleteThank you from me too Sue. Sometimes you just need to know you are not alone. Loved the illustration too. I am making a conscious effort to embrace November and I’m sitting watching the blackbirds in the garden wrapped in a mossy green Dartmoor wool blanket and drinking my first cup of tea out of my blue Denmark cup and saucer. The colours are so beautiful - very little wind so the leaves are still firmly clinging to the trees. I hope you have a photo to hand to remind you of your Welsh hillside. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteYou paint the most perfect picture ... enjoy. xx
DeleteMuch nicer and more hopeful words for November than Thomas Hood's November poem and my dismal list on my No Spend November blog post today!
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend
I loved your post, Suffolk Sue - I thought it was more tongue in cheek than dismal. But I like the optimism of this one too
DeleteI've commented and altered your list Sue, but it's good to have a plan and sometimes completely permissible to not entirely stick to it. :-)
DeleteI definitely got that impression too Angela, I bet there will be a lot of readers that take it very seriously. :-)
DeleteI need to put a note on many of my blog posts to remind people not to take me too seriously!
DeleteYour sense of humour and mine, seem to flummox some readers. We are unique. 😀
DeleteHow lovely and thought provoking those words are. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm making an effort not to rail against November. Feeling sad at the moment, my little Yorkshire terrier girl recently had to be put to sleep ( nearly 15 and suddenly poorly 😥) So , yes, hard times, easier times, all part of the cycle of being.
Alison in Wales x
Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear this Alison. It's never easy to say goodbye to our beautiful older girls is it. Sending you much love. RIP little one. xx
DeleteThank you so much Sue xxx
DeleteAlison x
❤️ xx
DeleteThanks for sharing, Sue. I’m not a fan of November probably because my father died suddenly in 1980 and my MIL in 1982 leaving a wee girl heartbroken at the loss of beloved grandparents. Catriona
ReplyDeleteWe feel the pain twice over when we have our children and grandchildren grieving our losses don't we. xx
DeleteWhat lovely words, Sue! I try and plan lots of lovely things to do in November to counteract the gloom and the impending horror of Xmas! xxx
ReplyDeleteHaha ... 'the impending horror of Xmas'. You can snuggle down with your crime novels and figure a way to finish Santa off for good. Could you also work out how to get rid of all the plastic tat and over-consumerism that seems to have connected itself to Christmas!
DeleteIt's a glorious, colorful time of year, just dread the cold ahead of us.
ReplyDeleteIt's colourful at the moment and I love it, but already with all this rain and flooding we are going into the muddy brown sludgy colours of Winter, every season seems to be rushing at the moment.
DeleteLovely poem and picture. November is my favorite month because it's my birthday month and we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US. Plus, this year, there's all the excitement of an election, too! :D
ReplyDeleteYes, you have a busy end to the month in the USA don't you, Thanksgiving and then straight into Christmas preparations. I'm glad you are finding the elections exciting, you are the first person I've heard that from, everyone else seems to be feeling impending doom. Sometimes it's nice to be optimistic isn't it. After all no matter what happens with politics us little people just have to make the best of it.
DeleteI love the Baldassari picture and would love to have it hanging on my wall. It encapsulates what I love about Autumn and Winter. Donna Ashworth's words are so inspiring too. Hubby and I have had a bit of a rough year culminating in both of us catching Covid a few weeks ago, after escaping it since the beginning too. Graham actually needed paramedics at the outset but we're both now negative (although we still feel wrecked)
ReplyDeleteI actually like Autumn and the battening down of the hatches for Winter. I was 75 on 1st November (and feel it!!) but I intend to take life slowly and regain my energy for next year. I want some adventures in 2025 before I get too old to enjoy them!
Angie xx
I'm glad to hear that you are both coming out of the other side of your tough time. It all sounds horrendous. I love Autumn too, the colours, the nature, the calming and cooling down period before Winter sets in. I hope you can relax through the last of this year and start your new adventures next year refreshed and raring to go. Happy Birthday. 🎂
DeleteGood to see this note from Angie - I'm still missing her blog!
DeleteShe keeps in touch regularly on my comments section, it's always lovely to hear from her. They've had a really tough year. Like you I do miss her blog, but I understand why she had to stop.
DeleteThank you for the picture and beautiful words Sue. They really touched me. Love from Pam in Texas.x
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed them. xx
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