Dear Bloggers,
Do you recognise that feeling? Every year around this time, when it's sunny one day, the crocuses are still awkwardly opening their limp calyxes to catch the first rays of sunshine,
and you can enjoy the feeling that spring is coming so intensely?
I certainly do. It can make me feel completely euphoric. The air is clear and clean, the light feels different and the birds are singing again. Last Friday, I walked the dogs and did my round in the village; sun on my face and wind at my back, with a hint of chill still in the air. In addition to the crocuses in the parks, I also saw the bright yellow flowers of coltsfoot popping up. Everything was fresh, new and beautiful.
On the way back, it was dark, with thick clouds full of rain and the wind blowing hard in my face. The euphoric feeling was gone.
That's what I love about this time of year: the new that is tentatively and cautiously becoming tangible and visible, and the old that is still there, shaking me awake and bringing me back to the here and now.
This is similar to my process of developing a new story. Just like the many flower bulbs that have been waiting invisibly in the earth since summer, I sit behind the screen all that time, my brain working hard.
Now the time has come for the first shoots to cautiously peek above the ground. I find that exciting, because the shoots are still thin and fragile. But I also know that this can grow
into something very beautiful. This is pretty much everything I have with nature.
And yet I have learned to enjoy everything that grows and blooms during my walks through the woods and nature reserves. These walks also give your mind a sense of peace and you have to learn to see by really looking. I walked a lot because my wife was in a very bad way and I needed to escape from it all. Walking helped me to keep my thoughts and pain under control. It was a bit of relaxation at a time of financial worries and a family that demanded a lot of attention.
Writing about everyday things is also a help in this world filled with disasters and wars. We hear very few positive things, which sometimes makes it difficult to write a story.
Just like plants, I need good seeds to sow a story and wait for the first shoots to emerge from the ground.
I could also use some help in spreading my “seeds”.
So that things can return to normal and the old-fashioned idea of letting children play in nature slowly but surely becomes the norm again. And we let children grow up in contact with
nature, instead of glued to their screens. So, parents of today, put your stuff and worries aside for a moment and enjoy the lovely spring sunshine.
Everybody needs a bit of Sunshine and a little flower
The Old Sailor,
