My Winter Manifesto 2016

When I was younger I was obsessed by the weather and cloud formations and remember saying at a young age that 'the sky is like a piece of ever changing art'...at one point in my life I wanted to be a meteorologist...That desire and passion for watching the sky and noticing nature's changes is a practice that grounds me and sparks a flow of energy inside me. I studied geography at school, sixth form college, and then a masters degree for four years of my life. Despite not using the content of my studies in my day job, my passion for landscapes and understanding the natural features of the world lights me up and is with me unconsciously everyday. Noticing the changes in temperature, light, the weather, and plants during the year allows me to connect with nature. I'm sure we all do this is some way, don't we. For me having this connection really helps spark creative ideas and bring these thoughts into what I love to do and how I live my life.

Each season brings with it something new, a new chapter. I take real pleasure from noticing the changes and love the blurry edges to the seasons as they move to the next. My word this year is Awaken and with this in mind I have decided that I want to awaken more of a connection to the seasons than I have done before. I want to awaken more awareness and I want to awaken my senses.

To help me achieve this I'm writing a manifesto for each season of the year. A manifesto for me is a statement that pulls together my thoughts and the key things that what I want to get out of the season ahead and to help act as a guide. For me it's about thinking of the simple pleasures I love during the season, celebrating what the season brings, creating direction, actions, and practical and achievable intentions, with the outcome of connecting more to each season in an intentional and focused way. Life is full and creating a practice to allow myself to intentionally become more mindful is a such a good thing. Living with and observing the seasons is something that I do unconsciously, I adore it, but I want to awaken more of an awareness.

Writing a manifesto is not something new for me. Over the past few years I've written intentions and manifestos for the Christmas period, for both Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas online class and Ali Edwards December Daily project. Writing the introductions to each of these projects is one of my favourite ways to focus for the time ahead. Where I can over the past few years I've combined both approaches and I get immense pleasure from thinking through and living these actions during that time of year. I've been inspired by them and have decided to extend this practice to be an activity I enjoy all year round.

I've been living with my manifesto for a few weeks now and feel that it's time to put it out there. My manifesto for this winter is...

Escape from all things digital once a week

Celebrate our 8 year anniversary

Notice changes in the light and sky

Handwrite a letter

Listen to something new

Knit mittens

Decorate our home with seasonal items

Discover and cook a new recipe

Make space for yoga

Read an inspiring book

To create my manifesto I took time to hunker down and think. Over a few days I spent time with a notebook, blanket and cups of tea to journal my thoughts.

This week you may have noticed a few images popping up on my Instagram feed. I will add the hashtag #livingmywintermanifesto2016 to my images in Instagram to show you what I'm doing to bring in this new practice into my life. I'd love to hear about your intentions for this winter season so you might like to join in too and let me know your thoughts here or on my Facebook page.