Beth Kempton's Blog, page 5

Join The Winter Writing Sanctuary for FREE (starts Nov 23 for 2 weeks)

Introducing the WINTER WRITING SANCTUARY – a gift from me to you in these dark days…

Friends, how are you doing? 2020 just keeps on coming, right? To keep our collective spirits up, I have decided to bring forward my brand new writing course and offer it for FREE because the world is a tough place right now and we all need some inspiration and community! I very much hope you will join me and writers from around the world!

You can sign up here for free (and please tell any friends who might enjo...

Introducing The Calm Christmas Podcast! New episodes every Thursday through to January

Come and join me at my kitchen table deep in the English countryside for a cosy listen during the darkest time of the year. In this brand new series, The Calm Christmas Podcast, I share soothing wintery words from my favourite writers and poets, tips for a stress-free holiday season, and ideas for taking care of yourself at this time of year. There are tips for a natural, sustainable Christmas, and a glimpse of how winter is endured and celebrated around the world.

With new episodes every Thursd...

Observing the seasonal metronome

I am writing this at the desk in my attic, raindrops splashing against the tiny window, blurring the yellows, reds and turning greens on the tall trees outside. We are in the microsesason of 霎時施 Kosame tokidoki furu, which roughly translates as ‘Light rain showers from time to time’. Japan has 72 of these microseasons, or kō, each lasting about five days.  

I love the idea of the calendar being used as prompt for noticing such small shifts around us. The names of these microseasons track changes...

Nine reasons why thinking about Christmas in October is good for your health

I know, I know, it’s only October. So why am I talking about Christmas already? Well firstly because my book all about Christmas just came out in the US and Canada (hurrah), but mostly because of these nine reasons:

(1) It gives you time to set an intention for the season, before the craziness begins, so you don’t get sucked into everyone else’s version of what Christmas should be.

(2) It gives you time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t last year, and figure out what a meaningful Christm...

On ignoring the doubters and loving them anyway

When I talk about doing what you love, some people get really inspired, and some people do a funny kind of snigger and say, “Yeah but I love watching tv and no-one’s going to pay me to do that.” Well actually there are plenty of jobs that will pay you to do that – from specializing in TV law to being an actor on Gogglebox, from being a showbiz blogger to being a novelist doing research for a new book about TV dramas… The point is, you can get paid to do ANYTHING in this world, but sometimes you ...

A question for you to ponder on a long autumnal walk…

Hello friend

How have you been? I hope you have weathered the COVID storm and are doing OK in your corner of the world. It has been a while since I blogged regularly because, you know, life! But as we come into the last quarter of this extraordinary year, I wanted to reach out and check in.

I know of many people who can’t wait to see the back of 2020, but personally I am not rushing toward December. Autumn is a gorgeous time out in nature, for wrapping up warm and taking long walks, for catchin...

Inviting a Calm Christmas this year

What a year it has been! No-one could have predicted what would unfold in 2020. I hope you have weathered the storm and are doing OK. I wonder how you are feeling about Christmas this year? Perhaps you are looking forward to it more than ever, given all that has gone on this year? Perhaps you are dreading yet more stress and financial pressure, after the tough times you have already been through? Perhaps you are unsure how you will spend it, given the COVID restrictions, and any related health c...

A poem to make you think

I stumbled across this beauty of a poem today. I found it completely arresting. At first it felt sad, but then I remembered that it’s sometimes these tiny glimpses that prompt action to change something… or gratitude for what the settling has given us.

The Price by Stuart Henson

Sometimes it catches when the fumes rise up

among the throbbing lights of cars, or as

you look away to dodge eye-contact with

your own reflection in the carriage-glass;

or in a waiting-room a face reminds you

that the ...

Being prepared to follow the butterfly: a true story

“One of the most powerful things I’ve ever read. It describes exactly how I felt about the world before the pandemic, the stress that we were living with and how this enforced pause has allowed a unique chance to evaluate our lives. A revelation.” – one reader’s review of my new book ‘We Are in This Together’, which has just been released

After many hours sitting at my writing desk working on my new book a few weeks ago, I went for a walk in a conservation area near my home. I have been there ma...

Inhale. Exhale. It’s a good place to start in a crisis. *My new book is out TODAY!*

Click on the video to discover the three most important questions to be asking yourself right now, and hear me reading the Prologue of my new book We Are in This Together, which is out today!

What was your day-to-day life like back in January 2020? What was working well? What was not working so well? What were you secretly wishing for yourself and for the world?

Perhaps January was full of new year’s resolutions, big plans for the year ahead, or the January blues, Christmas hangover credit car...