I’m waking at sunrise this week, which happens sometimes. I’m a seven-hours-a-night-or-I-lose-the-plot-kinda-gal (this isn’t limited thinking, I’ve experimented and weird things happen when I don’t get enough shut-eye) so I’m feeling a bit tired. I was tidying the house like a mad woman (the family are visiting and there’s nothing as marvellously motivating as the threat of your loved ones seeing the mess you live in).  After a couple of hours I came over all sleepy, so I made myself a cuppa and sat on my bed to look out of the window at my lovely garden for a little rest.

Then I woke up. 

It can’t have been that much later because my tea was still warm(ish).  As I drank it, my mind stayed in that warm, comforting blank space that’s sometimes there after sleep, when some blue tits flew up to the window.  Yes, last Spring we had resident bumble bees, this year we’re blessed with resident blue tits.  According to the Woodland Trust, blue tits like a nice cosy space for their nest, which explains what they’re doing in our eves.  The wonder of this is they keep flying right up to the window on their way home, and I get to watch them. I wanted to write a sweeping romantic poem about the love story between two blue tits, but this is all I’ve got:

The blue tit feathered her nest
With twigs that were the best
When her partner flew home
and started to moan
she tweeted, oh give it a rest.

Thoughts began to fill in the blank spaces, as thoughts are apt to do, and took me from nesting blue tits to wondering why some animals, like birds, choose to pair up in an almost nuclear style family to raise their young (why is it called nuclear by the way?  I’m sure I knew this once, but right now all I can think is because it’s apt to explode), and why some animals are solitary unless it’s mating season (snow leopards, platypus, polar bears), and how others choose to live communally, (elephants, lions and wolves).

That got me to thinking about all the different ways us humans live, and my mind settled on pondering communal living. I experienced a taste of this on my recent retreats and I can’t deny there’s something magic about sharing space with a bunch of compassionate and supportive people.  Many of us in the West spend our lives in little boxes of ‘mine’ and ‘yours.’  My house, my car, my phone, my grass.  It’s the way our culture has raised us, and it feels natural.  But the very small taste I’ve been given of communal living has got me thinking I might enjoy it.  The idea of a tight knit community working towards shared goals appeals to me.  I’m not very handy though, or green fingered, so my application might be refused on the door, but a commune must need someone who can make a nice cup of tea? Recite a bit of poetry?  Perhaps I could grow green fingers with time, and I did affix a sticky-backed chalkboard to our wall the other day. Unfortunately I was so intent on getting it straight (paranoia from a past wall-art disaster) that I forgot to put it in the middle of the wall, but it’s ok because it’s a chalkboard, so I just added a clarifying statement:

The kind of ‘communal living’ I experienced on my most recent retreat was having my own ‘pod’ to sleep in but writing quietly alongside each other, eating together, and occasionally walking together.  I used to think of myself as a bit of an introvert, and whilst I do need some time alone, I’ve actually discovered I’m quite sociable (when I get enough time alone).    Cue scrolling for intentional communities.  What a wonderful foray this was into the world of communal living in the UK.  My personal favourite was a spiritual community up in Scotland, where they practice stillness and tuning into our deep inner knowing.  Now all I have to do is convince the husband, the kids, the dog, and we’re off.  This could take some time. 

In the meantime, I’ll settle for mixing my life up in little ways. This week I’ve been working from the sofa instead of the office, because I needed a different set of four walls. I’ve been walking the dog with the sunrise instead of in the afternoon, because I’m awake, so why not? This has actually been rewarding in lots of ways; there’s a lot more wildlife about at this time in the morning (geese, deer, buzzards) and a quality of stillness in the air that’s not there later in the day. I ate cake for lunch today instead of salad. I’ve also decided it’s time to mix things up with the blog, and I’m exploring the creation of a Substack. I hope you’ll join me there if my explorations bear fruit. But before all that, let’s end with an inspiring quote that’s so pervasive no one knows who said it originally and some questions:

A change is as good as a rest

my nana

Where do your blank spaces take your thoughts?

Are there any alternative lifestyles to the one you’re living that intrigue you?

What did you last do to mix things up a bit?

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 My daughter introduced me to the artwork of Ralph Khoury on Instagram. His amazing animations are really heartfelt and poignant, I thought you might want to take a look. Just click here to visit his Instagram. No affiliation, I just like sharing cool stuff.