Blessings in nature


Every day last week I went for a walk. I came across such beauty and it made me realise how blessed I was. Firstly because I live in such a beautiful location but because I am able to get out and about and go for a walk and able to enjoy the gorgeous spring flowers.  There are many people who are restricted to their homes due to disability, or illness, live in nursing home due to old age or are currently in hospital and are not able to freely go outside and enjoy their neighbourhood. 

I can, but I forget to say thankyou for such a wonderful blessing. 

Today I want to share with you some of the beauty I see on my walks. Spring is a wonderful season and I came across so many flowers that are such a joy to look at. 

Just look at the pretty pinks that God has created in nature. So feminine and delicate. 


Being able to walk without pain is something many of us enjoy but take for granted and not realise what a wonderful blessing it is. I like to walk to keep fit and to help in weight reduction, many ladies are restricted in their walking and I am sure would love to be able to do what I can do each day. For this reason alone I need to be thankful that I can.  


Sunshine is so good for our minds and bodies. Whilst I live in a very sunny country, we have high levels of vitamin D deficiency because people are too busy to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. Sadly, many women are too busy to take 30 minutes out of each day to go for a walk — a walk that provides pleasure, healthiness, relaxation, calmness to the soul and makes a person happy. How can you walk past these flowers and not feel happy!  


When people do walk, they don't take the time to LOOK. Sadly, women rush about in their day and forget to SEE what is around them. I always walk with my iPhone, not for the phone, but for the camera. I am one of those people who like to stop and take photos of all the beauty I find and even on a 30 minute walk I can find a lot to photograph. 


The other nice thing about walks is the birds, I often see birds flying about or just being able to listen to their song. Once again, the ability to see and hear is something we take for granted when we shouldn't. A world with no sounds or one that is dark is something I couldn't imagine, but many people live like this and are still very grateful. Having sight and hearing is certainly a huge blessing. 



My son, brother and uncle are all colourblind and cannot see the full spectrum of colours that I can see. What a blessing to be able to see such rich colours that God has placed in nature and there is no shortage of colours, such as these beautiful yellows and oranges. 


The shrub below smelt lovely and was a privilege to be able to smell it. I have a friend who cannot smell, so she has no idea what a rose smells like, or the arrival of spring, the smell of cut grass or even the smell of a freshly bathed baby. Not being able to smell means she cannot quickly determine if her dinner is burning or the smell of fire. Not being to smell does mean missing out on some of the joys of life, but also being aware of dangers.  And the lack of smell affects taste so she doesn't get the full pleasure of food as a result. Another blessing to remember. 


Now that the weather is warming, my husband and I like to go for a walk in the evenings. I love walking at this time of the day when the sun is sinking in the sky and creates different lights on the landscape. It is also a nice to time to check out other people's gardens, not to be noisy but to look at their gardens and enjoy their work. 


And finally a look across to the mountains in the distances. This isn't very far from where we live and aren't we blessed to have such lovely places to walk each day. Something I need to remind myself of often.



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Comments

  1. What a great walk!
    So beautiful and clam. Glad you got your vitamin D.

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    1. I do - but I need to be careful as I have fair skin and I burn easy on a summers day :))

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  2. Great reminders and beautiful pictures! Refreshing =)
    love,
    Bets

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  3. I know I take my five senses for granted. How wonderful to hear sounds like birds chirping, water flowing; see flowers blooming and the sun shining; feel a cool breeze, grass between our toes; taste sweet and salty goodies; smell the scents of the season (currently autumn for me! ), a baby's sweet scent after a bath :-)... so many things to be grateful for if we would only stop and look around!

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    1. So many wonderful things to enjoy :))))) I love the wonderful smells of the seasons, right now it is perfumed air and mowed lawns.

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  4. Wow, you do live in a beautiful place!! What a blessing. It's funny that you're talking about spring when we're talking about fall over here in America. :)

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    1. This year the spring flowers have gone on much longer than normal and it has been lovely to enjoy them for a few more weeks. We are heading into summer and you are heading into winter - it is a little strange!!

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  5. Hi Jo,
    What gorgeous photos. You sure do live in a beautiful area. Thanks so much for sharing your photos.

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    1. Sometimes one needs to take photos and look back on them to realise they do live somewhere lovely!!! It is so beautiful at this time of the year.

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  6. Thank you for taking us along on such a lovely walk! Your pictures captured the beautiful moments perfectly, letting us enjoy the sights as well.

    It is so true that too often we can take for granted seeing, hearing, smelling, walking and just being outside.

    Thank you for sharing your blessings and helping us to count our own. :-)

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    1. Walks at the moment are just amazing. I did another one today with a friend and we had to keep stopping and looking at the gardens as they were a blaze of colour!!!

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  7. Beautiful! And such blessings to be thankful for! Colour is one of those things that I especially appreciate - colour is so amazing and magnificent. I am so super thankful that God created colours and used them so liberally in His creation!! :) That's not to say that I don't appreciate the other senses... right now I can smell the deliciousness of slow cooking corned beef, and when I walk over to the bench I can smell delicious brownies. Yesterday the house was filled with the amazing smells of freshly baked bread and pickled beetroot... I am so thankful for smells. Our house is constantly (night and day) filled with the sounds of birds and insects that remind me that I can hear and that God created beautiful (and noisy!) sounds for us to enjoy. Yes. Much to be thankful for!!

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    1. I have a friend who can no smell and therefore her taste is affected - she can't smell the scent of flowers nor the smell of food cooking which I always found to be very sad. Because she can't smell food or taste like we do, she doesn't really enjoy cooking and what she eats is often very ordinary. it shows how important these senses are.

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