taking stock of the little things

For some reason, vodaphone have seen fit to take their network down and its taken me an age just to get the internet up and running this morning, and I'm still without any phone communications, and in the absence of any other form of comms or interruptions, I seem to have noticed that its a beautiful day.  The suns shining and the sky is blue here in Temple, looking out across the moor you can see just as far the sparkle that is the sea of the south coast.  The gardens covered in daffodils and white bells, the chickens are busy sunbathing and basking in the dust of the wood shed, the dogs flat out on the doorstep and for a few blissful seconds, anyone would be forgiven for thinking this is the most beautiful peaceful place in the world.  

Its funny but when spring finally comes around, and pronounces itself, like its done on a morning such as today, it always catches me by surprise, its like the whole fora and flora world arrive all together at once and firmly assert that today is the day.  I know that if I had payed the slightest attention over the last few weeks, I would have seen the sprouting buds, and penned the chickens off the fragile snow drops and I wouldn't be surprised to wake up and discover spring, but like the majority of us, I'm always rushing between here and there busy with something else and preoccupied with what I'm going to cook for dinner.

Its not difficult to spend everyday in a space and not really see it, be it a shop, a work environment, your own front room, it always takes a stranger, a customer or just a fresh pair of eyes to point out what it is that we have missed.  It doesn't take much for us just to stop every once in a while and appreciate our surroundings or get out our critical eye and decide that perhaps a spring clean wouldn't do our shop or business or our reputation any harm at all.  

A good colleague of mine passed away last night, and while I hadn't known him for long, I know he would have appreciated the day and made time to smell the flowers.  This morning, I'm taking a little more thought in my actions, and being a little more precise about my priority list, because in the words of the poet William Davies "a poor life this, if full of care, we have no time to stop and stare".