The Calm Christmas Podcast with Beth Kempton

S2 Ep8: CHERISH (pause + celebrate)

• Beth Kempton • Season 2 • Episode 8

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So here we are in Christmas week! This week I am sharing a few quiet words and a couple of festive recipes (for you and for the birds) to bring a sprinkling of calm as the festivities peak. With inspiration from Julia Baird, Emma Mitchell, and Maya Angelou. Wishing you whatever kind of Christmas you want and need this year.
Beth Xx

Ingredients for featured recipes:

(1)   For the birds

  • You will need:
  • 250g block of lard
  • 250g wild berries like rosehips or hawthorn, or dried fruit like dried cranberries or sultana, wild bird seed, and porridge oats (250g in total, in any combination of berries, seeds and oats)
  • A saucepan of boiling water
  • A heatproof bowl to make a bain-marie
  • Yoghurt pots, fibre plant pots or coconut halves
  • Garden twine

(2) For you

  • 2 litres still or sparkling cider or apple juice
  •  2 large or 3 small apples, washed, cored and sliced but not peeled
  • 3 oranges or 8 tangerines (washed and sliced but not peeled),
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice only)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice, 
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 
  • 8 cloves, 
  • 6 short cinnamon sticks
  • 6 tablespoons brown sugar

I think sometimes/Of the Christmases lost/To arguments about the TV remote,/Unappreciated gifts,/Or sprout-related worries,/When all everyone really wanted/Was to sayI love you./And it makes me sad/UntilI also think/Of all the Christmases /not yet made,/Of the laughter round the table/And the crackle of the fire/As loved ones share with loved ones/All they really want./(To say,I love you). This is the Calm Christmas podcast with me, Beth Kempton. That poem is from my book, Calm Christmas, and a Happy New Year. We are in Christmas week, friends. Welcome to Episode 8: CHERISH. This is all about pausing and celebrating. This episode is going to be shorter than usual, because we're so close to Christmas now, and I know we all have a lot going on, although hopefully less than we otherwise would have, because we are on a quest for a Calm Christmas, of course. So this is the less comparison more celebration episode, and if you take one thing away from it, I hope that is the reminder that we can choose to think about how other people might be celebrating, and feel all the feelings about that, whatever those feelings might be, or we can pause and choose to focus on our own celebrations, looking for all the things that we have to be grateful for in our own lives. Whatever kind of a year you've had, you are still here, you have coped with all the hard stuff. You have found joy in the small stuff. Maybe you've even bought some dreams to life this year. And you have been an important figure in other people's lives. All of that is worth celebrating. If you're suffering from loneliness, sadness or grief this year, as so many of us are and do every year, I encourage you to go back and listen to Episode 9 of Season 1 of this podcast. There is a lot in there that you might find a comfort. For today, though, here in this episode, I just want to May you know that you are loved./ May you let others know you acknowledge that Christmas is nearly upon us. We are all arriving at her door with all kinds of baggage, perhaps shoulders heavy with the weight of the year, perhaps heart light with the promise of festivities. We all need different things from the coming few days, so here's a blessing for each of us. love them. / May you be safe and offer shelter. / May you be open to your sadness and welcoming of joy. / This Christmas, may you receive whatever you need. This week's wellbeing tip is to try to let go. Let go of the need for everything to be perfect. To let go of what doesn't get finished in time for Christmas. Let go of what has weighed you down this year. Let go of anything that you didn't get done or anything that was a disappointment. Just let it all go and look up. Good days are coming. For our journaling prompt this week, answer this very simple

question:

What are you ready to let go of? Feel free to come and share your thoughts with me over on Instagram @BethKempton where I will be asking the same question there this week. And here's some inspiration for you from the stunning book Phosphorescence by Julia Baird. She says: All we can do really is keep placing one foot on the earth, then the other, to seek out ancient paths and forests, certain in the knowledge that others have endured before us. We must love. And we must look outwards and upwards at all times, caring for others, seeking wonder and stalking awe, every day, to find the magic that will sustain us and fuel the light within - our own phosphorescence. And always, always pay attention to the world as we live our one wild and precious life, even when were flowing in the Bardo, about to retune to the surface, bursting for air. And now it's time for nature corner. Why not take some time this week to make some festive hedgerow treats for the birds as food gets harder for them to find. These snacks are inspired by recipe in the gorgeous book Making Winter by Emma Mitchell. You will need a 250g block of lard, 250g of wild berries like rose hips or hawthorn or dried fruit like dried cranberries or sultanas, wild bird seed and some porridge out. So you want 250g in total in any combination of berries, seeds, and oats. You'll also need a saucepan of boiling water a heatproof bowl to make kind of bain marie, and some yoghurt pots, fibre plant pots or coconut halves, and some garden twine. To make these bird treats melt your lard in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water as if you're melting chocolate. Then when it's melted, take it off the heat and stir in your berry, seed and out mix and then leave it to cool. In the meantime, poke a hole in the bottom of the containers you're going to use - yoghurt pots, fibre plant pots or the coconut halves - cut a 25cm long piece of garden twine, fold it in half and tie a double knot to form a loop. Push it through the hole in the pot so the knot is on the inside. And then when the lard is opaque but still soft, fill your containers and leave them to cool and solidify. Then when they're ready, you can choose somewhere outside which is at least 1.5m off the ground to hang your containers ideally where cats and other predators can't get at it. And near some foliage where the birds can shelter between their feeds. It might take a while for the birds to discover your offering, but be patient and you'll be able to watch them tucking into this essential winter snack. And now how about something for you? It's time for this week's Christmas recipe. How do you fancy some mulled cider or mulled apple you could pop it in a KeepCup or a flask and take it on a wintry walk. This old handme down recipe is super simple and makes enough for about 10 to 12 friends or lots for you. Plus it's got apples and oranges in so it's two of your five a day, right? So you will need a couple of litres of cider or apple juice if you want to make a non-alcoholic version and you can use still or sparkling apple juice for that. You'll also need two large or three small apples washed, cored and sliced but not peeled; Three oranges or eight tangerines, washed and sliced but not peeled; The zest and juice of a lemon; One teaspoon of ground cinnamon; One teaspoon of ground allspice; A teaspoon of ground nutmeg; A teaspoon of ground ginger; Eight cloves, Six short cinnamon sticks and Six tablespoons of brown sugar. You simply put everything in a pan, heat it gradually and then leave it simmering gently without boiling for an hour. Then strain it to serve in heatproof glasses and tuck in and enjoy. This goes well with a Christmas carol or two and a lovely mince pie. And for this special Christmas episode I want to share one of my favourite poems by Maya Angelou, an Untitled poem that she read out of the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington DC in 2005. You can find it in her lovely book

'Celebrations:

Rituals of Peace and Prayer'. I did share this on last year's podcast and I know lots of you enjoyed it. If you still have your journal out, you might want to listen and then just write whatever comes to you. These are very special words from a very special poet. Let whatever wants to flow out flow out perhaps it flows into your hopes for Christmas this year, or onto something else. Anything goes. Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses. Floodwaters wait in our avenues. Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche Over unprotected villages. The sky slips low and gray and threatening. We question ourselves. What have we done to so affront nature? We interrogate and worry God. Are you there? Are you there, really? Does the covenant you made with us still hold? Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters, Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air. The world is encouraged to come away from rancor, Come the way of friendship. It is the Glad Season. Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner. Floodwaters recede into memory. Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us As we make our way to higher ground. Hope is born again in the faces of children. It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets. Hope spreads around the earth, brightening all things, Even hate, which crouches breeding in dark corridors. In our joy, we think we hear a whisper. At first it is too soft. Then only half heard. We listen carefully as it gathers strength. We hear a sweetness. The word is Peace. It is loud now. Louder than the explosion of bombs. We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence. It is that for which we have hungered. Not just the absence of war. But true Peace. A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies. Security for our beloveds and their beloveds. We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas. We beckon this good season to wait awhile with us. We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come. Peace. Come and fill us and our world with your majesty. We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian, implore you to stay awhile with us So we may learn by your shimmering light How to look beyond complexion and see community. It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time. On this platform of peace, we can create a language To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other. At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ Into the great religions of the world. We jubilate the precious advent of trust. We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope. All the earths tribes loosen their voices To celebrate the promise of Peace. We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, Look heavenward and speak the word aloud. Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud. Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves, And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation: Peace, My Brother. Peace, My Sister. Peace, My Soul. Just beautiful. That was Maya Angelou's gorgeous Christmas

poem in 'Celebrations:

Rituals of Peace and Prayer'. And finally, just a couple of last minute Get Ahead tips because we are nearly there. Of course Christmas Eve is on the 24th and Christmas Day is on the 25th, certainly, those are the dates that we celebrate here in England. I encourage you to check your to do list eliminate anything not completely necessary and breathe. And if you don't yet have a copy of Calm Christmas now is a really good time to order one for two reasons. Firstly, it will probably arrive in The Hush which is the time between Christmas and New Year, which is what I call that liminal space between the two big celebrations. It is a wonderful time to reflect and plan ahead and the last third of Calm Christmas is actually full of ideas for this particular moment in the year. It will help you reflect on the year gone by and plan ahead to bring dreams to life next year. And of course, the other reason is that you'll then have it on your shelf for early seasonal preparations next year. And so my friends the time has come. Here are a few words for the evening before the celebration, one of my favourite days of the year. On Christmas Eve after all the preparations have been made and before the big day is upon you, take a moment to breathe, reflect and be thankful. Anglo Saxon pagans celebrated 24th of December as modranicht, Night of the Mothers, which resonates particularly strongly with me as I was on the threshold of motherhood on Christmas Eve a few years ago. These days I have my own Christmas Eve ritual. Prior to a quiet dinner with Mr. K, I cuddle my daughters as they dream, and I remember the arrival of our firstborn on Christmas Day a few years before. And then I light a candle and give thanks to my own mother and the women before her, to the gift of motherhood and to everyone who is offering a mothering influence to others in whatever capacity that may be. It's a lovely moment to reflect on your own relationships with matriarchal figures, whoever they may be, and to honour the nurturing instincts that have helped you prepare for this festive season. It's also the perfect time to breathe in the calm that tends to settle around Twilight on Christmas Eve. This is me wishing you a Calm Christmas and a little bit of festive magic. Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmas! You have been listening to The Calm Christmas Podcast with me Beth Kempton. I'll be back next week with a very special episode to make the most of the time between Christmas and New Year. You can expect prompts and tools for reflecting and planning ahead, so don't miss it. If you've enjoyed the podcast, please do leave a rating and a review to help others discover it, and remember to subscribe so you don't miss our final episode next week and also to get immediate access to any future season. For a peek into my own perfectly imperfect Christmas preparations on the eve of the big day come and find me on Instagram@BethKempton. I always love to hear from you there. wishing you a gentle countdown towards a calm Christmas and a Happy New Year, my friend.