Get out and get dazzled...
I’ve just returned form a two hour walk that featured vistas across fields to layers of trees of all shapes and greens. A view very different to the walks I’ve been doing on the Devonian coastline yet no less glorious and soul-restoring.
I’m reminded of a Mary Oliver quote, “It must be a great disappointment to God if we are not dazzled at least ten times a day.”
To get to the trees I had to walk hard out of the town on a narrow concrete pavement with cars and great big lorries whizzing by scaring the wits out of me. Looking up, the cloud formations made me murmur in appreciation. Looking down, tenacious flowers had me awestruck.
There is always beauty beyond getting out. Always something to uplift me and fill my heart with gratitude. Not just the landscape and nature. People and animals, too can lift one’s spirit.
Meeting new humans and pets has been a joy on my journeys these past months. Strangers becoming instant friends hugging and hospitable, requiring flexibility and spontaneity.
Within a week of meeting someone in the area where I was working for a short spell, I was invited to dinner to meet a bunch of lovely people. I arrived early and helped chop lots of beautiful red tomatoes for a big pot filled with courgettes and garlic and chilies. I was feeling relieved until I saw handfuls of shrimp going into the pot. Oh dear!
Another pot was also on the go but, alas, in went handfuls of shrimp. I hoped to dish my own plate and aim just for the veg. That was not to be as the host ladled out his gourmet cuisine. The generous offering of shrimp on the plate meant I couldn’t even leave them to one side.
What to do in a situation such as this?
My decision was to graciously eat the delicious meal placed before me. Grateful for the variety been added to my diet, for the friendship being offered, for the connection with locals, the laughter shared and the learning from stories told around that large oak table.
Sometimes, we just need to get out… of our homes, of our comfort zones, to find blessings deposited at our feet in abundance. Pick them up with gratitude.
Live well and find the happy,
Merryl @ GreenSmoothie.com
PS. A view from the South Devon Coastal Path
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