Autumn

And a week with no WhatsApp

One of the invitations in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a 12-week course I am currently undertaking, is a ‘No-Read Week’. Julia suggests abstaining from reading and consuming media like TV, social media, and podcasts for a week. I decided to make my own version and set the intention to take a pause from WhatsApp and social media for a week and to watch no TV. I had to still use WhatsApp and social media for my freelance work and then I let my nearest and dearest know I would be offline and archived all chats.

It was hard.

The first day I noticed how much I reach for my phone for comfort… to scroll… to check… to message. I stopped myself and began to gain a new found awareness of how much I was reaching for my phone.

The first two days, I got in touch with my loneliness. I also realised particularly as someone who lives alone and works from home that I do need contact with others.

I had a few plans in the diary already and I let those people know ahead of the week off I would just turn up and be there and miraculously, like the old days, that worked! In those first couple of days, something started to shift and suddenly and got loads of things done, who knew?!

On day two or three, I decided to reach out to a handful of people by email and I wrote a couple of friends some lovely long emails and got replies back that felt like a warm hug. I emailed my mum and asked her questions about her life before me and savoured the exchange. And then, I started to get through an inbox of unread Substacks and newsletters, that I’m subscribed to because I find nourishing. I started sending replies to people and got some back. I cleared my email inbox down to zero.

On day three, I went out in nature and actually forgot my phone. I felt slightly unsettled and then let go. Usually, I like to use my phone to capture photos but without it, I spent more time revelling in what was actually in front of me rather than trying to take a photo.

I allowed myself to bend the rules and kept in touch with my boyfriend via WhatsApp. We aren’t big on messages but it is important to me as people who live 50 miles apart to stay in touch.

On days four, five and six, I had my placement and a weekend of therapy training so it was easy not to look at my phone. At the end of day six, I decided I wanted to be back in contact with friends and gradually returned to the hundreds of messages over days six and seven.

It felt a bit overwhelming.

And liberating.

Freeing to whizz through six days worth in under an hour. And great to be connected again, and somehow in a more mindful way.

It’s been nearly a week since that now. I am noticing small shifts as I go on this Artist’s Way journey and I am watching it all unfold.

Another cheat… I did allow myself to watch Celebrity Traitors. Gosh, this series has brought me so much joy! Usually with The Traitors, I am counting down to the round table but with The Celebrity Traitors, I have wanted to watch every moment.

Another poem

I went to the cemetery again in the last week. It’s my favourite place near my new home. Another poem came. Again, in this wave of unlocking my creativity, I am choosing to put it out there as it is.

What if

What if I stood still and allowed myself to feel the sunshine on my face

What if I stopped to notice the magpie’s black tail turns blue in sunlight

What if I waited for the woodpecker to fly away before I took another step

Cherishing his emerald green glory, a glimpse of red head

What if I just watched the jays until they were ready to go

Warmth, wonder, abundance, peace

Samhain

This weekend, I marked Samhain with friends and friends of friends by organising an Autumnal walk in Stanmer Park. It felt so nourishing. The sun shone and 16 humans gathered, much to my delight! Thanks to friends sharing their gifts, we walked, we sang, we had time in silence, we remembered loved ones deceased, and shared a poem. One thing I particularly loved was lying on the ground and looking up at abundant golden colours against a blue sky. Something is emerging for me and I’m not quite sure what it is yet.

Until next time,

BB x

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