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The Almanac: A seasonal guide to the year; a celebration of the unfolding 12 months. Moon phases, sunrises and sunsets, time and tides plus the night sky, astronomical and meteorological. It shares gardening tips (gardening by moonlight anyone?) ancient recipes as well as folklore and nature. I am an Almanac newbie, mine being a Christmas gift from my sister. So far I have read just three and a half months to mid- April and I love [most of] it.
The Almanac and Earth Day connection; the celebration of the earth’s beauty and bounty alongside the duty of care we have to preserve it.
Taking time out each month to read the Almanac slows your pace a little albeit for a short while, the duration of a cup of tea perhaps. You learn what wild food is in season, how to tell the time by the stars (you never know when that may come in handy) and jobs for the garden. Age old traditions, ancient words and folk songs.
Garden meditation: Each month you are prompted to take a turn in your garden.
- Turn your face to the sky for five minutes, off with your shoes and socks and feel the living earth beneath your feet.
- Breathe in the cold air of February and find words to describe the clouds in the tumultuous skies.
- Feel the breezy winds of March in your hair.
- In spring, witness and welcome the new life. A minutes attention can reveal so much.
Meditation is actually extremely difficult especially if you are a mental list writer such as myself. I find it hard to switch off the chatter which habitually resides in my head.
Clear your mind. Silence the chatter. Feel the earth.
Earth Day: is held on 22nd April each year and is 51 years old in 2021. It’s motive is to build the world’s largest environmental movement by engaging people to do their bit. Reaching people everywhere to take individual actions that reduce waste. Although very much based in the US, there are obviously no country boundaries regarding the issues they tackle. This year’s theme is Restore Our Earth.
Earth Day is an extremely proactive movement, harnessing global youth and teaching the planet. It looks at emerging technologies which restore the earth’s biodiversity, reforestation methods and agriculture regeneration. It is so much bigger than me choosing to use soap over a plastic bottle of shower gel or encouraging people to upcycle existing furniture rather than buy new items with a hefty price tag and carbon footprint. A bit overwhelming for me actually but they seem to bridge the gap between the public like me and those politicians who shoulder the responsibility of healing the world.
A continuing thread throughout my few blog posts is that lots of little changes amass to make a big difference. I will continue to make little tweaks to mine and my family’s daily lives and take an active interest in earthly matters. Central to this is educating my children (and having them educate me) to be less wasteful and more mindful. It involves leading not lecturing.
Signing off: a recent family walk to the next village on a very wintery February Sunday afternoon and a retired gentleman quipped and chuckled “What’s all this about Global Warming?!”. A product of the Great Acceleration as outlined in David Attenborough’s book methinks – see my book review for an explanation if needs be.
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