When we turn back the clocks we (often reluctantly) let go of British Summertime as we close the curtains at 4pm.
Love it or hate it, the season is shifting!
So can I offer you a new way to view the darkness?
The practice of Double Evenings
Firstly, I need to say that this is not my original idea, but that of my teachers, Nicola and Jason Smalley (The Way of the Buzzard). In the seasonal way of living that they advocate, the changing of the clocks is an opportunity to relish, rather than something to grumble about.
The concept is that when daylight fades and you’re forced to turn on a light, STOP what you were doing. Take this moment in time – the turning on of the lights, the final look out at the darkening sky as you draw the curtains – to pause and shift gear.
This is the First Evening.
You have a couple of hours before eating your evening meal. So instead of simply carrying on, use the time to do something different.
These long dark evenings, in reality, last a very short few months. So why not make the most of being cosy indoors and tune into gentler, soul-nourishing pursuits?
Possible uses of the First Evening are
~ Read a book
~ Study something new
~ Create or make something
~ Phone someone or write them a letter
~ Sort through stuff
~ Play music
~ Get the recipe books off the shelf and cook up something a bit different
~ Light candles and soak in the bath
If you work for a living, like me, then make a conscious choice to move onto a task that is more creative and that will set you up for a good start again the following day.
If you don’t work, the theory still holds. Do something different that makes a ceremony of the shift from daylight into darkness. Then you’ll be ready for….
… the Second Evening
After you’ve eaten, there’s a whole extra chunk of time stretching away, still to be enjoyed. For lazing in front of the fire, or snoozing through the news, or reading in bed.
So there you go. The practice of Double Evenings, which I highly recommend and which I’ll be experimenting with myself in the coming weeks.
So let’s compare notes when we reach the winter solstice and the return of the light. I think we’ll be glad we made the most of the darkness!
Tracey Roberts 