Ahh February! The last month of winter, when grey skies, cold winds and relentless rain may be pushing us to submission! However, the snowdrops are up, its an ideal time to de-clutter, contemplate the year of the ‘Earth Dog’, get warmed by the romance of Valentines day, and perhaps find ways to love and appreciate ourselves more.

Feng Shui is all about harmony. Rather than being in resistance to our climate, becoming dull and negative, slipping into patterns of moaning and misery by falling water…perhaps we can remember it’s all part of the natural order of nature, and find ways to work with it, rather than against it. As we lean towards hibernation, our bodies can take a well-earned rest – just as animals and trees have their season of stillness and dreaming, so can we. Even tropical countries have their wet season, where the weather literally slows everyone down.

Let’s have no more complaints – just wonder at the power of nature, and dress accordingly! If we were about to die, we might yearn for one more day to just sit and watch the rain, to be alive and witness the extraordinary beauty all around us.

This is a time when we need warm hearts and sunny dispositions to carry us through to spring.

When its cold outside, I am so grateful for my cosy home. I used to live on a narrow boat, so to be able to simply switch lights on, have constant running water, instant heating and a flushing toilet, are still luxuries to me! Let’s not take them for granted.

When you arrive home, what do you see? Is it a bunch of messy shoes, coats and piles of post? Or are you met with a picture of your loved ones or favourite place in nature; an inviting, comfortable armchair; a plant that you’ve tended for years; or colourful flowers? I recommend something of beauty that touches your heart, and symbolises ‘welcome home’.

Know that ‘it is always darkest just before the day dawneth’ – it will soon be spring – and in the meantime, rather than be ‘whinging poms’, let’s wrap up warm and celebrate whatever the weather! As we embrace the wildness of the wind, welcome the rains that green our land, bless the moody skies that contrast with the bright fires in our hearths…and feel even more love and appreciation for our homes…the more they love us…