A time to sing

 

By Veronika Robinson

 

My favourite ‘me’ time of the day is about an hour before the Sun rises, and there’s nothing but me and the beautiful sound of birdsong.

 

I lie in bed for a while enjoying every whistle, shrill and song, but then their excitement of the approaching day inspires me out of bed. I pop the kettle on so I can reheat my hot water bottle to take upstairs with me as I begin my work day. The woodstove can go on later. While it’s boiling, I stand outside in the fresh air and say ‘thank you’. It feels like the birds and I are the only ones in the world. It's just so peaceful.

 

Upstairs, I turn the laptop on and in a short time the Sun comes up over the hills. Wow! No wonder the birds are so happy. They knew what was coming.

 

It’s easy, isn’t it, in a situation like this to be grateful. What’s not to love?

 

But I’ve been reflecting on other things I’m grateful for, but which didn’t start out as something which made my heart sing.

 

For example: When my husband was in hospital last month, on one particular day when the girls and I were going up to the city to see him, the car wouldn’t start. Cue: tears. A kind friend in the village said ‘don’t worry, we’ll jump start it’…only the car wouldn’t jump start. Cue: more tears.

 

I just wanted to see my husband. I didn’t want a car that wasn’t going to start. I didn’t want to stand in the freezing bloody cold! And I most certainly didn’t want to be late for visiting hours.

 

The kind Car Rescue man said it needed a new battery. Cue: tears. (Clearly I was at the back end of the hormonal month!) He managed to start it, and said he’d follow me to the nearest mechanic.

 

£50 later, and we’re on our way to the city. I hate cities. I hate traffic. They do NOT make my heart sing. I find the frenetic energy so very disturbing. Full credit to my teenage daughters. They really ‘held’ me that day.

 

Arriving half an hour after the start of visiting hours, the car park in the hospital was overflowing. More tie wasted! More tears. I just want to see my husband!

 

Finally, we get a car park and race up to the ward. Only, …. “Sorry, you can’t visit now. He’s being transferred to another ward and their visiting hours aren’t till 7pm.”

I don’t know if screaming would have been more effective than crying at this point, but I was spent. I looked at my girls and said “I’m not driving all the way home again, and I don’t want to miss out on seeing Paul today. We’ll just have to pass the next few hours walking around. I’m sorry.”

 

Heavy hearted, we headed around the corner to a very large Sainsbury’s supermarket. The girls were kept busy for quite some time trying on all sorts of clothes and shoes. I just wandered aimlessly through the aisles feeling very sorry for my pathetic self.

 

During my walk around the store, a representative from Sainsbury’s Energy (electricity) asked me if I was happy with my electricity supplier. “No, as a matter of fact, I’m not. I’ve got two years worth of letters to NPower to prove it.”

 

I signed up with NPower (they were recommended) and was told they’d be less than my previous supplier. Turns out, they have been charging me at least double what I’d previously paid. I’ve asked many times for the meter to be checked, blah blah blah.

 

I had no idea that NPower is one of the most expensive suppliers out there. It was something I simply hadn’t researched. In fact, I didn’t know there were suppliers besides the ‘big six’.

 

That horrible day, which found me with hours to spare, led me to a new electricity supplier which is £500 a year (!!!) less than my previous supplier. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for that.

 

There are so many things in our lives to be grateful for, besides cheaper electricity, but it’s so easy to take them for granted. Turning on a light switch, running water, instant communications with loved ones or business colleagues around the world, shoes, beautiful music through a stereo, vehicles…not to mention Nature in all her glory: Sun rise, Sun set, the orbiting planets, oceans, deserts, mountains, rivers, streams, meadows, the seasons.

 

Every day it’s possible to write a list of 100 things we’re grateful for. As a daily practice, I can easily write down between five and twenty things I'm grateful for each day.

 

Without gratitude, we have very little. Without gratitude, we simply don’t see all the gifts which abound. I'm grateful for so many things in my life, but I still have a way to go in recognising to be grateful for EVERYTHING...

 

How about you?