It’s lockdown (again), it’s November, it’s grey, it’s drizzling outside, we can’t see our friends and the world is spinning into chaos. I know, it’s not the most uplifting start to a blog entry but bear with me.
So what can we do?
We could curse winter, draw our curtains, prop ourselves up in front of a screen and eat cake. We could do that until the first crocus pops its little head up in Spring. That is an option. But I have found a more rewarding one and I feel the need to share it.
Take a deep breath. . . . . Put on a coat. . . . . . And step outside.
You may recoil and want to head back to your cake but do not give in to this urge! Take yourself somewhere green. It doesn’t matter where. A quiet area of a local park is perfect, or if you can get out into the countryside, even better. And then walk, slowly and quietly. And just notice your surroundings.
That’s all.
At first you may only see grey skies and sludgy mud and wish you’d never peeled your rear end off the sofa. But keep looking. And notice if you can see anything at all that you hadn’t initially seen.
Perhaps you might notice some golden beech leaves or scarlet hawthorn berries. Perhaps you’ll look up and see a cloud that looks like a hippo or a bird flying over you that you’ve never seen before.
And when you see this, STOP!
Stop and give it your full attention. Marvel at it as if it’s the first time you’ve ever seen such a thing. Because it is. Look deeply into it, focussing all of your attention on that and that only.
Now watch as your mind tells you to move on, that you have better things to be doing with your life than standing in the rain and staring at a leaf. I would suggest that there is nothing better you could be doing. This small shift in your attention is the start of something exciting.
Watch how it changes when you give it 100% of your attention. Keep looking at it. Look at its texture, is it just one solid colour or are there more subtle colours that emerge on closer inspection? Does it look smooth or jagged? Notice how the light falls on it. Is it wet or dry? Dull or shiny?
Look, look and keep looking. The more you look, the more will appear and when you see this you are on the way to understanding the magic of this alchemy. You can be standing in the rain on a grey November day and feel like the cat who got the cream because the world is transforming before your eyes.
It’s a key into the present moment. Your focus has momentarily been taken away from the ramblings of your mind and redirected to the natural world. And what a relief it is!
You don’t need to go anywhere exotic, you don’t need to spend any money, you don’t need to rely on anyone or anything else. The magic is there all around us. We’ve just forgotten how to see it.
