Quiet Whispers in November 🍂
Tthere’s a magic lingering in softness and life to be found in a gentler pace.
And just like that, the golden hues from October slowly started to soften and
make space for November's gentle song of slowing down and letting go.
Hello, lovely reader! I’m TJ, an artist and storyteller and on here, you will find gentle reflections & musings on life, self love, healing and the magic of mundane wonders. Aka the stories that I collected as I pivoted my life around by choosing to follow my creative dreams. Make yourself cozy, have a read and I hope you the words will bring a dash of wonder and magic into your day.
Do trees know that they are essentially “naked”? Well, some of them anyway.
Sometimes my thoughts catch me by surprise when I’m wandering around these days. But as I watch the leaves twirl in the wind, a gentle reminder to strip away anything that has run its course and told its story, washes over me. A reminder that every element in life has its time and place and we get to dance with it all.
I’m always quite busy once Autumn arrives. And in my world, Autumn arrives the moment September says hello. Despite my love for late summer days, I can feel Autumn waiting to make her return and with it an energy that makes me feel more at home within myself. My days woosh by and I do my very best to embrace Autumn’s enchanted golden melodies as it flows through my creativity. Then once Halloween passes through, leaving a trail of pumpkins in her wake; a quiet enters my world.
November, the month that’s snuggled between Autumn and Winter; Liminal, muted and moody. She takes the vibrant colors from October and begins to mellow them down. In the past, I really didn’t like how the colors faded, but the more I allowed myself to see my world through my imagination, the more I began to feel that she’s telling the shades that it’s okay to rest for there’s a magic lingering in softness and life to be found in a gentler pace.
When I was younger, I just wanted to sprint through November, arriving in December where the twinkling holiday lights illuminate the darkest days of the year. But in the last several years, I’ve been welcoming the slower pace of nature and this pace began to make itself at home within myself as well.
It’s a quiet magic, filled with poetic wonders. It’s one that can be easily overlooked, but once you begin to find the soft glimmers in the mundane, they will shimmer and twinkle when the days are shrouded in darker hues and when the wind brings a chill to your bones.
As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my room, watching a giant tree gently sway in the wind. I’m pondering whether I want a second cup of coffee, which rarely happens, but today feels like a day for extra coziness. An undercurrent I’ve been feeling called to add in abundance ever since my birthday twirled by. Autumn is still singing her tunes, but the symphony of burnt orange, warm yellows and crimson slowly makes way for deeper shades of browns and muted hues of greys. The leaves I carefully collected on my Autumn walks in the sun are in neat little piles on my desk.
They are crispy yet the colors are still beautiful. There’s no life in them anymore yet there’s a soft sweet scent clinging to them. Which surprised me as I expected an old dusty and moldy fragrance to appear. It’s in little moments like this that I’m reminded of the wonder and enchantment that is all around us if we choose to find it.
Having said this, I know that it can be very difficult to find something to look forward to when the current state of the world is confusing, heartbreaking and outright unfair on many levels. Some days it all feels so heavy, but the more I learned about myself and my place in the world is that you can’t show up for the world around you, if you aren’t showing up for the world you carry within yourself.
Question time: What’s one thing or area where you could be more gentle with yourself? Is it how you approach a task? A way of being? A habit you’re trying to break or implement into your routine?
For me it’s being gentle with implementing a better sleep routine. While I’m not tangled with a burnout anymore, my sleep schedule needs some attention. I know that this will help me to balance out my energy levels so much more as well.
Whether you’re also located on the Northern Hempisphere and the slower energy is seeping into all areas in your world or if you’re in a “winter” season in your unique journey through life, I’m very much aware that this month can demand a lot of mental and physical energy as the holidays are approaching. I know all too well how easy it is to feel that you’re running out of time to do all the things you still want for this year.
It’s my wish for you that whenever you have a pocket of quiet time to yourself, to take a moment to reflect back on this year so far. Notice the little pockets of growth and change you’ve moved through. Sometimes we don’t even realize our strength, what we’ve conquered and the wonders we’ve witnessed until we reflect back on where we used to be. You deserve to pat yourself on the back for you’re here, breathing and your path ahead is shaped by how you treat yourself in the present moment.
I never thought that I’d write about a month that I used to glance over, but perhaps the reason for this is because I had to find a certain level of calm and groundedness within first; a deeper understanding how we can move through life. Reading back what I’ve written so far, it feels more like a collection of thoughts, but I do hope that there are sentences that resonate with you and I’d love to hear how you’re feeling about this month and if there’s something you’re looking forward to?
November’s magic is quiet and her wonders are delicate. She will ask you to look a bit closer and deeper, within and around you, to find the glimmers that are tucked away in the smallest nooks and crannies. She invites you to create space for dreaming, for hearing the whispering melodies of forgotten stories and memories as the Autumn breeze gets chillier as the days flow by. She will ask you to breathe in a bit more fully, to embrace the tired parts of self, to anchor in a slower pace wherever possible.
As the days flow by, I hope you’re able to be gentle to yourself, that you can find little pockets of calm to rest your mind, body, heart and soul. Seek out the glimmers and let them become golden threads, filled with stardust, in your story. I have all the faith that they will glow extra bright when you need them too.
Have a beautiful and cozy month ahead, my lovelies; till next musing!
Much love,
TJ xx
~ News on the Glimmer Board ~
The Gift Shop will be have a soft launch very soon. 🎊 A collection of bookmarks and prints will be available and a clearance will happen as I want to make space for new art. To be the first in the know, please sign up to receive a secret letter!
I don’t have paid subscriptions on Substack, but I do have a Patreon world, aka Society of Wonders, where you can collect more slivers of magic for yourself. You can think of magical wallpapers, wondrous ebooks and WIP peeks & indept creative musings. You can also collect a monthly exclusive bookmark and/or 5x7in print! There will be a tweak in my art goodie tiers in November, to accomodate higher production costs & postage prices, but anyone signing up until then, will lock in the current prices. Your support is so appreciated and it helps me to keep a breathing space in my process so I can show up with more magic for you! ✨
If you made it to the end, I’m so grateful to have you here! I hope you loved reading and staring at all the things, lovely! If you got some value out of the words and you’d love to support me, I’d SO appreciate it if you could heart & share the words with your wonderful world. And, if it’s aligned, I’d love to welcome you as a subscriber as well! Thank you so much for reading and spending some time with me. ♥
I am always amazed by the photos you share. I think I agree with you, although I've never reflected on November per se, but as a kid it was a bit of a 'come onnn hurry upppp' month between birthday and Christmas. I grew to deeply dislike Christmas, having no positive memories associated with it whatsoever, so November, to me, means hanging on the thin 'spooky season' thread ignoring all the out-of-place wintery glee.
I love reading your posts.
I would love to spend an autumn in the northern hemisphere even a year in the northern hemisphere to really experience all four seasons.
Things are heating up down here the humidity can get you down and I try and imagine what it would be like to go into winter for the end of year festivities. But your descriptions of autumn and slowing down are beautiful. Thank you