Seasons

I have lived for most of my life in towns of varying size and my main occupations have kept me indoors for most of the time. It is possible to live my life with only the vaguest sense of changes of the seasons and life cycles. Even the weather can often be ignored as one need never be far from building or car. Some people can go through the year without needing an outdoor coat. It is possible to become almost completely disconnected from the natural world and to barely notice the horizon. It is possible but not desirable.

One of the reasons I run is to make sure this does not happen. Keeping in touch with my animal nature is more than just trying to be fit in both body and mind, it is an effort to use all the senses to feel part of the surroundings. I need to get out to see the wider sky, feel the shade or shelter of trees, be surrounded the colour green, see animals, and feel the weather on my skin. In some way it is important to notice all the subtle difference from week to week as the seasons change.

I was thinking this on yesterday's run. It felt so damn autumnal - the air, the leaves, the berries all spoke of the season. I stopped to take a picture of elder and hawthorn berries intertwining and then looked around. For some reason, in that moment, I felt more alive.