As our world has gotten smaller so has our ability to see the beauty in everything around us. Technology is fantastic and progress is essential in this changing world but without appreciating the world around us what's the point. The saying "wake up and smell the roses" says it all. We live in the fast lane of a digital highway with no hard shoulder. No where to pull in and take a break, to call for help or take a minute to look at the beauty all around us.
I try and make a point of stopping and taking a breathe, grabbing snap shots and storing them as Jpegs instead of compressed files.
This morning it is freezing cold, ice and frost everywhere. The most striking images appear of intricate webs spoon by spiders, ice particles hanging from every leaf, and birds trying to feed from plump red berries dotted all over the trees in my garden. Beautiful and serene! However inside my house alarms are ringing, dogs are fighting, phones are checked, socials caught up on and a mug of tea downed before everyone joins the highway with not even a nod to the beauty outside.
When my children were younger and I was trying to give them direction I would use examples in nature to open up a conversation. In the primary school in our small village there is a big old tree sitting in the yard over looking the school entrance. I would say to my kids imaging the stories that tree could tell. It offers shelter from the rain and a place to chat and gossip. It symbolises hope and growth under the watchful eye of generations. Every time I see this tree it makes me smile. It feds and shelters birds and it signals the change in seasons. Imagine if that tree could talk! I wonder if it could spill the beans would we learn anything!
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