It came to me this morning that the work of this moment in time, for me, for all of us, is to get un-confused

…about what we truly care about, how we want to spend our days, what we want to be a part of and what we don’t, what we want to keep and what we ought to let go, where to look and listen and where to turn away. It is important for this time we are living in, with its flood of information and ideas. Especially now, as the threshold of the holidays nears and our expectations and to-do lists grow. I felt this so strongly, as I sat in the sunshine before breakfast, reading words from an earlier time, feeling a portion of the clutter in my mind fall away.

For the past several years I’ve thought of November as my Advent for Advent…a time to prepare the way for a less fraught, more quietly joyful December. And it has brought me that in part, but never nearly enough. It became so clear to me (again!) this morning, that I still look outside myself for too much…plans, approaches…when I know what I love and what I need. And what I am really looking for is just a little encouragement, some companionship and a few lovely breadcrumbs to lead me along my own path.

All of the rest only adds to the confusion already in attendance.

Life is precious, as are our days…both the ordinary and the festive. This morning, in the sun, it seemed absurd to think of allowing another November and December to hurry me along through all that I want to savor, or to face the crowning of the year with a sigh (however quiet.) Tho’, of course, there will be sighs and tiredness and rush…just less as the years circle around is my hope. And more of the simple pleasures, the spaciousness to enjoy them, and the time and energy to capture them.

I know what the keys are to opening these doors…I believe we all do. It’s just the finding of them, over and over again, that we sometimes forget how to do. Understanding this today is giving me new energy and clarity for what I want for myself and my home in the next few months. And it has clarified what I want to create at Wisteria & Sunshine, to help us remember where we put our keys and which doors we want to go through as Autumn deepens and Winter nears…

Hoping you are as fond of metaphors as I am, for I have so many helpful ones dancing in my thoughts now…of our ancestresses with their household keys dangling from their waists, always with them…of Mary Lennox and her robin finding the key to the secret garden…of open doors and locked doors and dream doors and all they represent. And that reminds me…

Wisteria & Sunshine’s doors are open for just another week or so, when it will close until the New Year

…for I’ve realized that it all feels more cosy and restful there if I can settle in after a time of welcoming and focus on sharing and tending, lighting candles and having conversations. And I am aware this post is feeling a little like an advertisement! When it is actually the coming together of so much in a peaceful hour this morning…and the simple sharing of it with you. xo

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