On Joy and Longing

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift" — Albert Einstein

Welcome to The Autumn Chronicles, a place to shine a light on all the wonder around us as we navigate the seasons. I hope these writings allow you to sit quietly with a cup of something warm and comforting and take a few moments for yourself away from the rush and hurry. If you would like to make sure you get all newsletters directly to your inbox, please subscribe below. Thank you for being here. All photos © The Autumn Chronicles.

I have collated here two pieces of writing that evolved from prompts given during the SoulCircle writing gatherings run by

Beth Kempton

. My writing practice is irregular to say the least as I often find it hard to carve out time between the rigours of work and the demands of daily life but these gatherings allow me to immerse myself with paper and pen for an hour and see what flows. It is a great way to get back in touch with why I enjoy writing and to encourage myself to let go, without imposing any specific structure or routine around the words.

In these flint-grey winter days, the themes of joy and longing feel especially commanding. The whisper of spring as the nights get that little bit lighter every day hints at the potential that is unfolding. The muted softness of the winter season allows reflection on what we long for and what the possibilities might be if we examine our longing more closely. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we have passed the festival of Imbolc with its ephemeral glimmers of change and we are heading towards the emergence and abundance signified by the Spring Equinox. The passing of winter and the anticipation heralded by the transition of the seasons suffuses the air, allowing us to dream of laying to rest the cold and the dark and to thread the optimism that comes with the arrival of (hopefully!) warmer weather into the fabric of our days.

Joy is a burst of sunshine, an intense heat spreading to the tips of your fingers and the pads of your toes. It is the feeling of your cheek muscles stretching before you even realise you are smiling and the glint in your eye that flashes with golden radiance. It is the breathless feeling of uncontrollable happiness, where even if you tried, you could not be sad.

Joy is music, joy is laughter, joy is a pink flush in your cheek and a heart that beats in time with the rhythm of life. Joy is a moonbeam, joy is stardust, joy is the first crunch of autumn leaves underfoot and the mild chill of a winter’s sunrise hitting the tip of your nose. Joy is a warm drink on a cold day, it is a hug from a loved one, it is an ice cream in the heat. Joy is tangible, at once solid and ephemeral, taking shape in the tissues of our bodies and spilling from our obsidian eyes as starlight.

It has been a winter of longing. Longing to feel the warmth of a renascent sun on my face after the bitter chill of winter. Longing to find myself again after being lost in the heavy blankets of hibernation that cover me like a shroud. Longing to feel alive, as if I too have lain dormant in the barren earth, expectant, waiting.

Longing is a clutch at the heart in the darkest days, where you feel that winter’s unceasing hand has gripped your soul with claws of ice and stone. Longing is the green shoot peeking from the damp earth with all the promise of hope and renewal it contains. It is the shadow feeling, the ghostly hand on the shoulder that tells you there is more that awaits you, to keep going, it’s not far now.

Longing can be for a person or a time that you once knew but this is soul-longing; the gut-clenching pull of what you know you could be, of all your unspent potential. It is a whisper on a breeze or a clap of thunder, embracing you and surrounding you before pulling at the tendrils of your soul, unfurling all that is possible like the petals of a rose freshly bloomed against a summer sky. Longing is the precursor for the you into which you can pour of yourself freely, of a lifetime of opportunity. Longing is an ache, anchoring us in the present while we dream of driving forward towards a new horizon.

Longing is the depths and the shallows, the ebb and the flow, the valley and the peak. It is the crescendo of a wave as it crashes onto the golden sand below. It is unrelenting, all-encompassing, breathtaking and life-giving in its complicated simplicity.

I’d love to know: what provokes joy or longing in your life?

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