Three Glimmers | 02.25

Snapshots of wonder from the threshold of spring.

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.

February is an in-between month, a gateway between winter’s chill and the first blossom of spring. I am ready for a change but am trying to force myself to enjoy the transition of the seasons and to surround myself with the particular type of beauty that can only be found at this time of year. It may be that this beauty is harder to find or appreciate but it is no less remarkable when we do observe it.

I wrote in a previous post about the grey of February and how, perhaps, it is the perfect colour for this time of year because it allows us space to reflect and recharge before the dawning of spring. I have spent a lot of time lost in my own world over the past few weeks - thinking, planning, dreaming - and it has been time well spent. I feel ready for the light to return and am enthused by the anticipation of a new season. By the time you read this, we will have left meteorological winter behind. I hope it was kind to you and I hope that spring blooms full of joy in whatever form best reflects what you need right now.

Here are the glimmers I have enjoyed this month, as we prepare to leave the depths of winter behind, ready for the calming embrace and unbridled possibility of spring.

Self Acceptance

My word of the year for 2025 is contentment and part of that is embracing where I am in my life right now and allowing myself to enjoy it for precisely what it is in this moment. I will admit that this doesn’t come easily to me. I am naturally ambitious and goal-orientated, and I don’t feel like I am doing anything worthwhile unless I am striving for the next achievement.

One thing that developing a chronic health condition will teach you is that you have to take it slowly, build yourself up little by little and make sure you pace your energy. It is something I have struggled to come to terms with over the past year (and tormented myself with the fact that if I had taken it slower, not allowed myself to burn out and set more realistic boundaries earlier, perhaps I could have avoided it completely) but I have finally reached a point of acceptance and even excitement about how much slowing down can benefit my life.

Adjusting to a new normal is always a bit of a work in progress but I am proud of how far I have come over the past twelve months and how I have reframed a situation that may not have been of my choosing into something more positive. There is more work to be done but my hope is that I can continue to build on that over the months and years to come, slowly carving out a life that better reflects who and where I am now and prioritising health and wellness, both mental and physical, above more ephemeral markers of success.

Community

I have always tended to play the role of organiser in my family and friendship groups but in these days of varying pain and fatigue levels, I find that I don’t have the energy - or the appetite - to consistently take on that role anymore. Consequently, I have found that some of my friendships have dwindled. It is sad but not unexpected and makes me all the more grateful for the times I do get to spend in the company of the people I love.

I am very taken with the idea of a ‘tribe’ of friends and I am lucky to have some incredible people in mine. Some of them live in other countries and timezones so meeting up or speaking regularly is challenging but they are all the kind of friends where it feels like you spoke yesterday even if you haven’t seen them in person for a while. I had coffee a couple of weeks ago with two women I have known since my school days; one of whom I have kept in close touch with over the past 22 years and one of whom I don’t think I have seen since leaving school. Three women, newly 40, on different life paths but with a shared history, coming together to spend a few hours on a Sunday catching up, sharing stories and reminiscences and comparing notes about life. It was a wonderful moment of connection and it makes me so happy that, even though so much time has passed, there is still this shared thread that weaves through our lives and keeps us in each other’s orbit.

I am also very grateful for the community and kinship I have found on Substack and am in awe of the supportiveness, generosity, talent and kindness of the writers I connect with here.

Exploring

I had never been to Battersea before they opened the Northern line extension a few years ago. It was always difficult to get to from my neck of the woods and, unless you lived there, there didn’t seem to be much of a reason to go. All that has changed with the refurbishment of Battersea Power Station into a vast retail, dining and residential complex. We visited with some friends and took Lift 109 up to the very summit of one of the chimneys where there is a viewing platform (you can just see it at the top of the chimney in the foreground). The view is incredible, although we visited on a grey, rainy day so the photos didn’t come out that well.

Our hope had been to go for a walk in Battersea Park and then along the footpath next to the river but the weather was so awful, we opted to get a boat back along the Thames instead. There is something very calming about travelling on water and it is fascinating to watch the city unfold as the boat meanders its way from bank to bank. It was a lovely day, spent with some of my favourite people, and I am grateful to have explored another relatively unknown (to me) corner of this wonderful city I am lucky enough to call home.

I’d love to know: what has shone most brightly in your life this month?

If you’d like to catch up with my January glimmers, read more about my word of the year for 2025 or how I have sought to reframe the greyness of winter, you can do so here:

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