Slowing Down

I’ve had some enforced slowing down recently when I got a bad cold after catching a chill in the rain (how’s that for being a delicate Jane Austen heroine!) and then overdoing it in the gym (the icy aircon and damp sweat didn’t help …). The end result was that I was laid up at home last week for a few days - with the symptoms lingering into the Bank Holiday weekend. Bleah.

But as I lay on the sofa feeling terribly sorry for myself, there was something comforting about being snug indoors while the wind rustled the leaves and swayed the trees and the grey clouds scudded across the sky. When the rain pattered on the window pane, I felt even better. The worse it got outside, the more smug and snug I felt inside. If I wasn’t able to be out and about carrying on with my life, then at least no-one else was enjoying being out there either!

There was something to be salvaged from being laid up and not able to do much - apart from being safely out of the bad weather. I was able to stare out of the window at the silver birch in the garden and the rain drops splattering on the ferns and shrubs. I could smell the rain and the damp earth. And when the sun did come out for brief moments, I could notice the ochre light of evening and the sparkle of the roads and pavements in the sudden light.

Now that I’m better and back into the swing of things, my aim is to slow down more often - of my own accord and not because of being ill - so that I can just sit and stare and feel the breeze of my face and smell the earth.

Photo: thanks to eleda 1 from flickr.com (CCL)