Sunday, 10 November 2019

October Update

Time for the October Update! I'm later doing it again this month because I did two Samhain posts first. :) Read previous monthly updates here:

July (+ Lammas Inspiration):  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/july-update-lammas-inpiration.html

August: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/08/august-update.html

Sept: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/10/september-update.html

 

During October I attended a two week mindfulness course at my local mental health resource centre. Last October we had some good weather and I wore my flip flops still but this year it was too cold. I've officially put them away now, lol.

I tried out a new belly dance class and also went to my first event with a new Meetup group, brunch at a local tearoom called Teddys.

The day before Hallowe'en I went to a local firework day display for Bonfire Night. (It's always the Wednesday before Bonfire Night). Here are a few pictures:


Fireworks at Lancing Beach Green.





And then on the 31st I celebrated Hallowe'en/Samhain. You can read my post about that here:
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/11/halloweensamhain-2019.html


Since the end of September it seems to have been almost constant wind and rain! There have been some nice days though. Now that it's getting colder I've started having hot drinks some nights. (Although I still like iced coffee! lol). I recently made French hot chocolate. I didn't take a picture this time but you can see one in the April Update: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

I had a bit of a hard time in October; was just feeling really down. I've just not had a great time lately with losing my cat in August, anxiety and various other things. I wrote a post over on my other blog about when you're struggling. You can read that here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2019/10/when-youre-struggling.html

I also find it hard to adjust from the transition from summer to autumn sometimes. Although autumn is a beautiful season, I don't like the fact that we're losing light every day. It's especially noticeable since the clocks went back at the end of the month and it's getting darker much earlier (sunset was around 4.38pm in my area at the end of October). Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is quite common during the autumn and winter months. I shared a post in the September Update about coping with seasonal depression. Here are a couple more helpful posts:

Practical and Spiritual Methods for Coping with SAD: http://www.obscureclouds.com/practical-and-spiritual-methods-for-coping-with-seasonal-affective-disorder/

Ways to cope with short daylight hours (not for people with SAD but still useful): https://homespunseasonalliving.com/5-ways-to-cope-with-short-daylight-hours/

I plan to do a winter themed post, so will include some more links on this subject then. I also shared this post on celebrating the quiet of November Samhain season in my Samhain/Hallowe'en Inspiration post, and thought it would be good to link to again here now we're in November: https://sarahfawnempey.com/celebrating-the-quiet-of-novembers-samhain-season

The author Sarah Fawn Empey mentions about deciding how long to leave your seasonal decorations up. For me personally I like to leave the Hallowe'en/Samhain ones up throughout most of November (because I don't put them up till Hallowe'en itself) and then decorate for Christmas in December. So just do what ever feels right for you.  Hope your autumn is going well. (Or your spring!). :)


For some late autumn inspiration check out this post from last year: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/autumn-photos-inspiration.html


Read: Witchery by Juliet Diaz (non-fiction),  My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier, The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erksine.


Links I found useful:

Quite a lot this month!

Simply Fiercely post about simplifying your life: https://www.simplyfiercely.com/simplify-your-life/

Post about how to keep going when you feel like giving up: https://medium.com/@2squarewriting/when-you-feel-you-cant-go-on-da5437f0abd0

Post from Tess Whitehurst about finding peace: https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-subtle-secrets-to-finding-peace/

Malavika Suresh video and post on dealing with stress and anxiety: https://hellomalavika.com/2019/10/07/how-to-deal-with-stress-anxiety/

Article about your dreams and goals being closer than you think: https://selfmadeladies.com/closer-dreams-goals-you-think/ 
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