A lovely, relaxing episode to ease you into a place of restfulness this winter, including a beautiful meditation, some gorgeous winter poetry, and some tips for finding calm in the chaos. With inspiration from Hakuin, Brian Patton, Roger McGough, Mark Strand, the Royal Horticultural Society (@the_rhs), Joey Hulin (@joeyhulin_writer), Isobel Carlson, Donna Hay (@donna.hay), and Country Living (@countrylivinguk).

Featured in this episode:

•  Untitled poem by Hakuin from Three Zen Masters by John Stevens (Kodansha)
• Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton (Piatkus)
• First Snow in the Street by Brian Patton in 100 Best Christmas Poems for Children, edited by Roger McGough  (SPCK Publishing)
• Lines for Winter by Mark Strand in Poem for the Day Two edited by Retta Bowen, Nick Temple, Stephanie Wienrich and Nicholas Albery (Chatto & Windus) 
• Your Spiritual Almanac by Joey Hulin  (Laurence King)
• RHS Gardening Through the Year by Ian Spence (DK) 
• The Seaside Year by Isobel Carlson (Summersdale)
• Country Living Christmas (magazine) 
• Christmas Feasts and Treats by Donna Hay  (Harper Collins)

Ingredients for the featured recipe (Rocky Road)

Makes six

• 1kg of dark chocolate (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 130g sweetened dried cranberries
•  200g marshmallows
• 250g Turkish Delight pieces
• 50g of coconut flakes 
• 140g of shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit calmchristmas.substack.com