A Moment of Reflection

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

We’ve had lovely sunny weather lately in the UK, and this evening, I sat in my garden in a deckchair connecting with my inner child and doing some colouring. 

When I had finished, I just sat and relaxed for a while; no phone, no laptop, no headphones – just the sound of the birds tweeting in the late-evening sun, and the distant sound of summery drum & bass music from another home in my neighbourhood. 

There was nothing but bright blue sky, shadows on my lawn, birds twittering, and ants climbing up my son’s slide. Surrounding me were trees from my neighbours’ gardens, some of them bearing fruit. 

I couldn’t help but think – why, oh why, do we worry about our stuff instead of enjoying what is right in front of us for free? 

Earlier, I had been out with friends in Leicester city, and we went to our favourite store which sells game and anime merchandise and gets me excited every time. The difference was, I found myself being excited to simply enjoy what was on display rather than buy whatever took my fancy (believe me, there was a lot of merchandise and manga I was excited over). 

Once something is in our lives, it doesn’t just take money from our wallets, but space and time. Space to store and display it, time to maintain and keep it in the pristine condition that wowed us in the store, and countless hours from our lives. This stuff often only brings us a buzz the moment we bring it home from the store; after that we seek the next thing.

Yet just half an hour in my back garden enjoying the nature around me gave me more of a buzz than anything I could have brought home in a plastic bag. 

I also found myself reflecting on the fantastic time I’d had seeing my friends who I hadn’t seen for a while. This time of reflection made me grateful for all the things I do have in my life instead of all the things I don’t. 

Whenever you start feeling envious of those around you, or feeling the familiar nag of lacking, just step out into nature and soak it in for half an hour or so. Really soak it in. No technology, no interruptions. Just you and the Earth. Take the time to connect with who you are outside of all the noise and craziness, and to appreciate the things you do have in your life, no matter how tiny.