From Winter to Spring

At the top of my garden is a wild area. It gets left to its own devices partly through neglect due to my lack of time and energy but also because it suits being left ... wild and free. It's a perfect habitat for slow worms, hibernating hedgehogs, the common lizard and many other wonderful creatures. 

The scene at this time of year may look messy, in fact it could be described as an eyesore, yet lingering just below the surface is a masterpiece of beauty.  

The plenteous leaves of autumn and the damp conditions of winter provide a grubby blanket for showcasing spring revelations.

It's the same every year, but every year it's breath-taking. The simplicity and purity of a single snowdrop can banish the bleak mid-winter and usher in the warmth and vibrance of spring. It's the same ground and the same place, just displaying a different side to it's character.

We're not dissimilar as humans. We have our grubby sides, our bleak outlook and times in life when we want to hibernate or maybe even disappear into the landscape so that we pass unnoticed. 

Yet just like the top of my garden, there is a beauty and hidden treasures which at times may be invisible to others as they linger below the surface, but they are strong, they are wild, they are free ... and in time they will surface with a radiance. They are simply comfortable in their own form, colour, shape and size. They know their purpose and will happily live it out in the sphere in which they have been nurtured and prepared for.

The brambles and nettles may still be there and may even cause some discomfort at times, but they cannot detract from the significance and beauty of new life, growth and the choice of living a life to the full. Granted, an odd nudge now and then, maybe some pruning and encouragement may be required to allow some more deeply buried beauty to emerge and flourish, but it’s always there … unique and of great worth.

Let’s enjoy the transition of the seasons, taking time to notice even tiny changes. Be mindful and wonder at the detail in creation, the consistency and obedience yet the diversity and contrast all around us … absorb the beauty with gratitude.

Ingrid x

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade.” (Charles Dickens, Great Expectations)