‘All you need is a chair and a view’: could daily ‘dusking’ make us healthier and happier?
#dusking #light pollution #mindfulness #Marjolijn van Heemstra #dark sky reserves #circadian rhythms #wellbeing #Dutch traditions
📌 Key Takeaways
- Dutch ritual of dusking is experiencing a European revival
- Marjolijn van Heemstra revived the practice after discovering it from an elderly Dutch woman
- Dusking offers mindfulness benefits by focusing on natural darkness
- Light pollution poses significant health and ecological concerns
📖 Full Retelling
Marjolijn van Heemstra, a Dutch poet and author, has revived the traditional Dutch ritual of 'dusking'—observing the transition from day to night—across Europe in recent years, with enthusiasts gathering in locations like the North York Moors in the UK to practice this mindful disconnection from screens and artificial light in response to growing concerns about light pollution and its health impacts. The practice involves participants sitting quietly outdoors as darkness falls, focusing on the gradual transition from light to dark without artificial illumination, creating a meditative experience that reconnects people with natural cycles. Van Heemstra discovered the nearly forgotten tradition from an elderly Dutch woman who remembered her family observing dusking each evening before lighting lamps, leading her to research and document the practice that dates back to the 18th century. Since reviving the custom, she has organized numerous events across Europe, from intimate gatherings of 20 people to large assemblies of up to 400 participants, demonstrating the growing appeal of this simple yet profound ritual in our increasingly digitized world.
🏷️ Themes
Mindfulness, Environmental conservation, Cultural revival, Wellbeing
Entity Intersection Graph
No entity connections available yet for this article.
Original Source
‘All you need is a chair and a view’: could daily ‘dusking’ make us healthier and happier? An old Dutch ritual of going outside to watch the coming of night – or dusking – is having a revival across Europe. Fans of the practice say it’s a great way to disconnect from screens and find peace I ’m wandering around a walled garden on the edge of the North York Moors at dusk. The darkening sky is faintly illuminated by a sharp sliver of crescent moon and the first stars. Bats are swooping in search of supper, an owl is softly hooting and the dark outline of a ruined castle looms beyond the walls. But what is really striking about the scene is what’s missing: artificial light. There are no solar lamps or electric bulbs; no torches or phone screens. As parts of the garden recede into the gloom, others are thrown into sharp relief: the bare branches of winter trees; a russet-coloured hedge; clumps of snowdrops, glowing bright in the moonlight. I’ve spent the past hour at the UK’s first “dusking” event . About 20 of us gathered in a glasshouse at twilight to watch darkness descend. In the Netherlands, dusking, or schemeren, was once an everyday ritual, with families sitting together to observe the end of the day and the coming of night. The custom had all but died out until it was revived by Dutch poet and author Marjolijn van Heemstra a few years ago. Now she is encouraging other countries to adopt dusking, running events in Ireland, Germany and here in Yorkshire. We wrap up warm and settle on chairs as van Heemstra introduces the practice and gives us some pointers. “Dusking is about looking at one point and seeing it fade. Don’t look around too much; focus. Trees are very good – they rise up for a moment and then fade away.” I dutifully fix my eyes on a distant tree as an audio recording about dusking begins to play. Over it, I can hear a last burst of birdsong from the garden. Night falls gradually, then suddenly. Van Heemstra learned about dusking from a Dutch woman in ...
Read full article at source