Grey Can Be Beautiful - and Hoods Are Now My Favourite Accessory
A Sunday walk in the November rain
Hello, I’m Claudia, and Happy Quiet Life is where I share my view on the world as a Highly Sensitive Person. You’ll find reflections and stories about slowing down & living simpler, reconnecting with nature, mental health & self-care, books & reading adventures. Welcome!
I went for a walk in the rain today. Deliberately.
It wasn’t raining heavily, but nevertheless, a year ago I would have hidden under an umbrella if I had to get out, or stayed inside, warm and dry, with a good book and several cups of tea on a Sunday morning. I wouldn’t even have considered going out.
Actually, I wouldn’t even have had the clothes for the occasion. None of my coats or jackets had hoods; they were too dressy for that. Looking back, it seems to me that I had lived in the city for far too long, had adopted a slightly elegant style (well, elegant is relative, but you know...) and strongly resisted buying purely functional clothing when we moved back to my small hometown in Northern Germany. That was 15 years ago, but I only made very small changes; I didn’t want to be drawn into the practicality-above-all-else style. I kept my distance. Somehow. My clothes became a little more practical for working in the library, but that was all.
Fast forward. Since I quit my job and started recovering from burnout and other things, where reconnecting with nature has been helping me a lot, all my new jackets have hoods now. So do my comfy sweatshirts, which I love wearing. (It can be a bit complicated when worn as layers.) I also recently bought myself some rain trousers, fancy that, and I’m looking for a pair of wellies, something I last wore as a child.
Things change and they change for the better. Nowadays, a cold, grey autumn morning with drizzling rain draws me out of the house as soon as I open the shutters and glance outside. And it was beautiful today. The yellow and orange leaves on the ground and those still clinging to the branches brought colour to the grey and drizzly backdrop. The cool air was refreshing, and as I walked towards the Free Little Library near the cemetary, I was the happiest I had been all morning. Away from the internet, away from all the stimuli and distractions, even away from my thoughts, just me and the grey, the drizzle and the leaves.
I smiled all the way.
I swapped books at the Free Little Library (I took this one by a Spanish writer, set in a bookshop in London, perfect!) and paid my grandparents’ graves a visit. I talked to an elderly woman I met on the cemetary about the joy of every single season, the very first frost and we smiled about how our glasses were almost completely blinded by the misty drizzle.
Such a peaceful hour. I came home calm, smiling - and with a new book. I didn’t even notice the damp clothes or the wet hair. I didn’t look in the mirror. I made myself a cup of tea and felt the change, the contentment, the happiness.
Sometimes it takes so little. Just putting one foot out of the door.
It’s funny, but I’d never imagined I’d love wearing a hood. But apart from being closer to the elements and not having to struggle with an umbrella in the windy conditions we usually have here, I feel kind of sheltered, like I’m carrying my own shell with me. So soothing. (But I guess everyone but me already knew that …) Now I just need a better solution for my glasses.
I hope you had a lovely Sunday too!
Sooo relatable! I very recently bought a rain jacket too. I literally did not own one, like you. I still don't go for deliberate walks in the rain though, but at least now I have the option 😊
Such a lovely post and I have to say lots of my clothes are windproof, waterproof and generally designed for the outdoors. Walking, reading and tea ... the perfect day ✨️