This weekend, I felt such a lucky girl. After having had a full spring season in India – with pleasant temperatures, blue skies, golden sunlight and vibrant blossoms – I arrived to one of Europe’s most pwetty places to enjoy spring: Tuscany.
As this Indian spring was quite a turbulent time personally, right now feels like spring 2.0.
I felt myself grounding again, as well as regaining energy, inspiration and vibrancy.
🪷 With much gratitude, I share this blog filled with Tuscan spring vibes, reflections on cyclical living, and a reminder to trust in & surrender to our own cycles.
Tuscan spring vibes
Exploring Tuscany by car is a jaw dropping experience. You should have heard us ‘wow’-ing with each new curve & view. (Imagine by cycle! Next time… with less luggage).
Charming old villages. Magnificent cities where the prestige of centuries-old monarchies is still visible. Huge country houses with cypresses decorating the entrance lane. Local wines. Fresh pasta & pizza. Morning cappuccino & cornetti. Inspiring agrotourism. Olive trees all around. And all of this interwoven in the most captivating countryside hills. (Did you know the Windows Wallpaper portrays these hills!?)
If this doesn’t already sound amazing, spring brought everything to the next level. The hills were coloured lush green, fresh green leaves could be spotted on trees everywhere, butterflies and bees could be heard buzzing between blooming wildflowers & blossoms, the sun rays bringing a healthy blush to our face. And then the mornings… Birdsongs across the fields with a rising sun colouring the sky orange, pink & red on the background, dew on the grass and mist across the fields. Rising early in Tuscany is such a treat.
The region stirred something deep inside all three of us – a desire to live more closely related to the land, to slow down, and to enjoy the abundant beauty of life. Luckily, the only part of our month-long travel that wasn’t fixed, were these 5 days across Tuscany. We dropped our agenda of visiting many cities and changing accommodation every day, booked an amazing agrotourism for 4 nights, and geared back big time – enjoying slow mornings followed by visiting surrounding hotspots later in the day. La dolce vita.
Cyclical living
🌳 Seeing, feeling and experiencing Tuscany in this season, made me reflect on … cyclical living. (What a surprise, na?)
- It made me consider how I can allow my own nature to mirror the beauty of this season. This reminded me to enjoy the beauty of a new beginning, and to give space for things to evolve at the space and time they should.
I applied this to my projects, thinking how I can allow them to grow in such fresh air and golden-light blossom, at their own pace. If we let things evolve in their natural way, with the right intentions, and without focusing on the outcomes, beautiful things come out. Spring is a great testimony of that, with all its beauty, radiance, vibrancy, and colours, as well as its vulnerability.
If you want some inspiration on how to build on these spring energies, you can read my previous post here. - It also made me connect the blooming of nature – how this land feels alive, fertile, and awakening – to the energy of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, the inner spring, and the beginning of the lunar cycle. It’s the phase I enjoy most nowadays – the time of rising energy, creativity, and playfulness.
🌀 Reflection prompt: how does this season make you feel? what beauty of this season would you like to mirror in your own nature? What vulnerability of nature do you see in yourself?
Trusting our own cycles
🐚 This feels like a reminder – to myself and to you – that we are all moving through our own cycles. Nature guides us, supports us to live sustainably, inspires us to build on things through external seasons & cycles. It’s so important to be aware of these, align with them and work with them. But we have our inner cycles as well. And sometimes, we go through darker times when nature is fully blossoming (and everyone around you seems to as well), at other times we are shining brightly when nature is at its darkest moment. We all have our own journey.
And here, the importance of the Feminine comes in.
- The Feminine supports us to check in with how we are feeling, to accept without judgment, to make space for what is and to hold ourselves compassionately;
- She allows us to move smoothly through changes;
- And she helps us to trust. Trust our body intelligence, giving us what we need, and trust the unknown, co-creating our way forward.
So, now in Tuscany, I felt realigning with nature, as my energy increased, my skin became softer, my creativity resurfaced and my lightness returned. At the same time, my menstrual cycle reminded me to pace, by welcoming my bleed during the full moon, whilst the full moon brought me clarity and drive to bring things out in the world again.
💫 Practice inspo: For the upcoming month, observe the cycles taking place within and around you, and how these interact. What do you notice?
With love,
Stéphanie 🌞🌙
Awareness. Embodiment. Alignment. Transformation.
