Published on 16 January 2026 under the Life category.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is get out of bed and turn on my fairy lights. I read for a little while under the warm glow of the lights while the sun is not yet visible in the winter morning. I am reading a book about Nature right now – stories of walking. When I read, I can be in what I imagine as a clear summer’s day looking around and seeing mountains for a little while, even when it may be winter here. The story in the book eases me into my day.

The next thing I do is go to the window to look outside. Every day there is something new. Earlier this week, there was a dash of pink and red in the sky unlike anything I have seen before. I have seen red skies before, but they are so few and far between that every one feels new. With every red sky I am reminded more than ever how some things never get old. I find energy and excitement and delight in sunrises and sunsets – of the colour, their variance, the way the light changes the hills.

This morning is a foggy one; there have been several foggy days of late. I can’t see far, but I still keep looking at what I can see anyway. In the faint distance, I see the outlines of the bare wooden trees – trees that will be resplendent in summer. I see the occasional small bird fly past. I see the grass wearing a blanket of frost. There is a book here. Maybe I’m writing it now.

The topic of this month’s IndieWeb Carnival is the meaning of life. I think this is one of these questions that is answered over a lifetime; an answer that builds with the years.

There are many things that give my life meaning – that give me energy and make me who I am. Family, friendship, kindness, hope, life itself, realising that I’m part of a story that extends so far into the past and will continue extending in the future, the feeling of awe when I see something that someone made, the feeling of awe from Nature, the joy of noticing details, learning, music, art.

This morning, since the fog is out – an apt image, perhaps, for a question whose answer clarifies with time – and have just been looking out the window, I wanted to reflect on Nature, one of the things that gives my life meaning.

When I look out my window in the morning, I see both a familiar and a new world. I see home and a changing world at once. I think of the things we – society, through history – have built and the communities we make. I admire the trees. I wish for more trees. In my observations, I often find myself saying, literally, “wow”, as if something needs to be said.

Maybe in saying something I’m participating in Nature, in some small way. I have heard that singing to plants helps. I’m not sure if it’s true; I have never done any research. I like the story. I like that it implies connection; that our song can help plants grow. Maybe what I say to Nature – those exclamations of “wow” – is really helping me; to realise that some things that are right in front of us can be, and are, so beautiful.