Welcome,
Friends,
To another autumnal,
Cosy journey of meditation and of story.
As always,
Begin by finding your warm and comfortable place today.
Wrap yourself in blankets if you wish.
Take your time to feel comfortable and supported.
All that is required of you here is simply to close your eyes and breathe.
And perhaps as you settle and relax,
You begin to feel any tensions or worries or busy thoughts drift gently away from you,
Like autumn leaves falling from the trees.
Within our mind's eye,
We find ourselves cycling on cobbled streets.
It is early morning,
But the sky is bright and blue.
A crisp autumnal morning,
And upon your bicycle you are wrapped in your softest and warmest jumper,
Your favourite scarf,
And woolen mittens warm your hands.
You are cycling slowly through a beautiful town.
You are in no hurry and you enjoy taking in the beautiful sights and sounds and smells of this peaceful autumnal morning.
There is a sense of possibility in the air around these cobbled streets.
You watch autumnal leaves dancing as they fall from branches,
And the cobbled streets lead to beautiful old buildings of this university town.
This is a place of learning,
Of growth.
The golden stone of these ancient buildings glows in the morning light as the town is still just beginning to wake slowly with the sun.
As you pedal through passageways and streets,
You feel a deep sense of love and connection to this place.
It is a place where everything and anything feels possible,
Especially on a beautiful morning like today.
You already smell the crisp morning air,
A slight hint of damp autumnal leaves,
Maybe a subtle hint of wood smoke from the first few fires lit in homes.
But as you turn a corner,
You smell now something new and exquisite.
It is the bakery,
The first shop to be opened this early in the morning,
And on the crisp morning air you can smell a symphony of autumnal scents.
Cinnamon,
Ginger,
Clove and star anise,
And the rich scents of warm bread cooked with the rich ripe dried fruits that signal autumnal weathers and festive feasts.
You park your bike by the side of the shop and walk in,
Greeted with a smile from the bakers.
Before you rows of delicious treats are laid out,
Breads,
Rolls and muffins,
Iced cakes and cinnamon swirls.
You select a few of your very favourites to accompany for your onward journey.
You bid the bakers farewell and pause for just an extra moment to take a deep breath of that beautiful bakery scent.
And you share a moment,
Because the bakers know how special this place is and they know those scents bring comfort to us all.
Nothing finer on a crisp morning than warm fresh baked bread.
You pack your pastries into your bag and you already feel the warmth gently journeying through the side of the bag and your jumper,
A little extra warmth for your journey onwards.
You continue your bicycle ride now and you see your destination,
The great library.
It is adorned with ivy leaves that are turning every autumnal hue as they weave and wend their way up over walls and over windows.
They blend from green to red and gold and yellows and oranges,
A blanket of autumnal colour gently sweeps over this building that you love.
And the lights and lamps are on in each window,
Flooring you inwards to a place that you find great peace as well as great possibility within every page of the books it houses.
You park up your bike once more and walk up leaf-strewn steps,
Opening the great heavy doors.
The welcoming scent of old books and polished wood greets you.
And you see the morning sun streaming in through great tall,
If slightly dusty windows.
But the streaming light casts beautiful golden morning shadows over desks and shelves and books,
Lighting your way forward and drawing you inwards.
The library is quiet,
Even more so than usual this time of the morning.
And you greet the librarian with broad,
Familiar smiles.
You open your bag and show her a pastry that you bought specially for her from the bakery and she is delighted to say the least.
It is a warm,
Golden cinnamon swirl,
Sprinkled with her favourite caramel icing and dusted with pecans.
And in return for this delicious favour,
She plays just a little music quietly so that you both may enjoy peacefulness and a little music to start the day.
And you journey now into the library,
Heading for your favourite section that houses your favourite books.
As well as a tucked away desk and comfortable chair,
You take your time to gather two or three of your favourite books and settle yourself at the tucked away desk in the comfortable chair,
Sun streaming in through the windows.
You enjoy that feeling of opening up the first book,
The heavy cover creaking open.
You run your hand upon the paper and feel a little excitement for the joys and thrills you know are within.
You take your time to absorb the first familiar favourite words before the call of your own sweet treats sings to you.
And you take out a thermos from your bag of warm liquid,
Your favourite hot drink,
And unwrap a beautiful and delicious sweet cake from the bakery,
Scattered through with jewels of dried fruit and nuts,
And scented with warming spices and topped with golden icing.
Waves of comfort move through you as all of your favourite things are around you,
In your favourite place,
Peaceful and safe.
You feel a profound sense of peace and contentment,
These simple joys of book and drink and breakfast.
The outside world seems to melt away,
Leaving you wrapped in a cocoon of tranquillity,
Golden and spiced and filled with words.
And in this moment,
All that matters is the gentle turning of pages and the nourishment of your mind,
Body and soul.
You feel that you could sit here all day,
Peaceful,
Warm and surrounded by stories.
In time,
A gentle chime can be heard from the old clock in the library.
It is time for lunch.
You have spent a joyful morning here and notice now there is a gentle hum of activity as people come and go,
Exchange a few words with the librarian.
The squeak of shoes as people move through the aisles.
The sun is higher in the sky now and it is still a beautiful day outside.
You gather up your books,
Selecting the ones you will carry home,
And you pack up your bag.
You let your hand rest gently upon your favourite desk for a moment,
Solid and steadfast.
You know that you will return to this place many times and you are grateful that it is here.
You are grateful for the library,
For the words,
The book,
And you are grateful for this very beautiful autumnal day.
And as you leave the library into the bright blue sky of this autumn day,
You have had a beautiful morning and you look forward to what the rest of the day may hold.
When you feel ready,
Take a deep breath in and as you exhale,
Gently open your eyes and take a big stretch.
Thank you so much for joining me on another cosy autumnal journey.
I look forward to journeying with you again soon.
Farewell for now.
