From chaos to Kernow Calm

Everything seemed to be going ‘okay’ until my mid 40’s. 

It started with a growing sense of uncertainty about the direction my life was heading in, and it ended with me revealing painfully personal childhood traumas to my wife of 24 years…oh yes, and I got a fashionable diagnosis for a few neurodiversity’s. Great year bruh…

I felt like that 70’s kitten hanging from a branch poster, but managed to style it out with various ‘masks’ or persona’s to keep the circus in town. But I’d stopped having fun with the clowns a while back.

During times of high(er) stress, I’d seek out an escape…and app’s were my saviour. Noise cancelling headphones and at least 10 minutes of guided meditation or nature soundscapes to help with sleep.

My life wasn’t where I’d thought it should be and then… 

a series of life changing events, led to my beautiful wife and I moving alone, (out of necessity) to our dream destination; Cornwall, Kernow, the remote Kingdom of Granite. Seemed like a solid place to build our new life and recover. We’ve affectionately been called “blow in’s” by the natives, which I quite like, although it feels more like we were drawn here, magnetised.

When we first walked up the (ruddy steep) hill outside our cottage to a headland, over 500ft above the wild Atlantic Ocean, Cornwall’s unique natural world took us over.

The view we had earned changed us. A cold but perfectly clear December afternoon looking South towards Bodmin’s imposing Tors. Long winter shadows growing ever Eastward pointed towards the dramatic western edge of Dartmoor National Park. We took it in, sun on our faces, beanies on, minds and lips quieted. As we watched the majesty of Cornwall’s natural sights and sounds, the baggage we’d inadvertently brought along with us was an awkward third wheel. As that crisp Cornish winter air cleared our lungs and minds, our shoulders relaxed, and a new, authentic peace filled this moment. I’ve never sighed out so much shit. We’d made it, escaped the trap after executing one of the most elegant Irish goodbye’s you’ve ever seen…

We both love the sounds of Cornwall. Our first season here was winter, which gave us sounds of howling wind and rain beating on our single pane glass, thankfully with a crackling log burning stove as our ‘internet free’ soundtrack. In spring, you should hear the morning chorus of birdsong and smell the wild garlic growing. Summer was a treat as our toes touched the sand and we heard the lapping waves and crying seagulls…or ‘terrors of the skies’ as the unsuspecting victims of their ‘chip scrumping’ learn the hard way. Autumn’s sounds like early storms and crunchy leaf walks, with the hard work of summer paying off as we pick up apples for days.

Who doesn’t like the soundtrack of a Cornish fishing harbour with the gentle tink tink tink of masts and rigging, or falling asleep to the peace of rain on an umbrella, whilst tucked into a warm bed? We discovered these sounds from our childhood holiday and I’m grateful to say; now our new home. For us, it made perfect sense to capture these moments of peace and serenity and, share them as part of our recovery and to spread some Cornish peace and beauty. So here’s us wishing y’all peaceful meditations restorative deep sleep and relaxation when you need it most.

Peace and Love from Kernow Calm