Embracing a Seasonal Shift

Every aversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

In the woodland of my mind there is an Acorn. Small, gnarled, and unremarkable. But the power held within know no bounds, you see, this Acorn is where the life of my thoughts is born.

As the seasons shift, I find myself contracting with the land, more introvert and pensive, taking time to nurture the seedling ideas that have been pushed aside in the hedonism of summer.

It is at this time that some of my most stoic thoughts come to fruition, growing into the oaks that I have feared may overshadow my being, stifling the life beneath in lieu of their almighty grandeur.

For me, it’s a time to banish fear and see what might be. We can learn so much when we dare to try.

AUTUMN

Autumn, a departure. Things that were born in the heat begin to rot and spoil as cooler climes take their hold, Fruit swells, aching in the burden of its own weight. It’s in this confused time that spores take hold, bleeding in their wild desire to grow.

In the upcoming months, not all lies dormant. Beneath the earth there is a ravenous hunger, a primal desire to feed and grow. Fungi spores, secretive and shy, begin to flourish amongst the decay. Their growth knows no bounds, as the world begins to yawn, they sate their hunger and multiply.

Fungi & Mushrooms revel in the rot. Doubling as each day passes. It is now that our tastes begin to change, we crave earthiness and comfort.

WINTER

As the earth sighs and enters it long winter slumber, preservation becomes key. Retaining the lighter, crisp, and tart flavours of the balmy temperate months, allows me to feel a remembrance, a yearning for those times, but also a knowingness that they will return. For me, fermentation and preservation signify hope, hope that the Winter slumber is never endless.

As the trees gradually become stark and the earth becomes littered with their rust, I feel juxtaposed, straddling the hiatus between my heart which remains in those balmy, al fresco evenings, and my body, penetrated by the cold until it gnaws at my bones, comforted only by blankets and the incandescent glow of a fire.

Winter Citrus offers clarification and focus, its sweet tang sharpening both palate and soul, a purification amongst the heady earthiness of Fall and Winter. 

On the surface, plain, unremarkable. But sometimes it’s the wallflowers that show the most beauty. Winter, secretive and shy, makes us broody and elusive. We retire from communication, taking time to soothe and nurture ourselves. But with that comes a primal desire to learn who we are. We rustle at the core of our being, teaching ourselves how to tune into our deep, buried thoughts. We learn to feel.

But within the Earth, nothing is ever dead. Life shoots from the soil as Spring awakens, bringing with it a dawn chorus of birds and a verdant crisp zephyr that caresses the new tendrils of life.

And so, we can always look through the darkness to the light. Life is merely a seasonal shift which we can embrace, learning when to rest and when to ignite the fire within and embrace the long delirium of halcyon days in the sun.