Optimism
I may be a cynic, but I can also be an optimist spurred on by the giddy excitement of believing that something better could be about to happen. Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person? I used to think that I veered towards the pessimistic, but either retirement has changed me or I've always tended to concentrate so much on the detail of the waterline itself that I rarely notice the level.
Today was a case in point, not just because of a new juncture for democracy in the USA but also because of a myriad of events closer to home:
The temperature for starters was 10 degrees and whilst it is already plummeting again, it could be a sign that the worst of the winter weather has been and gone. Indeed whilst plodging through the incessant rain, it was gratifying to notice snowdrops in flower. There are also masses of other bulbs now growing quickly in the garden, even if I did get soaked in the downpour peering at them, whilst indoors my amaryllis is blooming.
We spotted our resident hare in the adjoining field practising his boxing technique. He always makes an appearance from the back end of winter through to June time, so perhaps he has noticed the evidence of new growth too.
Of course it's not Spring yet, as the flocks of redwings and fieldfares on their winter holidays from Scandinavia bear witness, but it is definitely coming.
Nationally and most concerningly, the official figure issued today for the number of people who have died from Covid 19 was horrendous but the continuing inoculation of the elderly provides hope. If follow up doses are administered in good time and no new variant emerges to prove itself resistant, there will once again be scope for the reduction in fatalities and maybe even the resumption of retirement as we used to know it.
This afternoon I've been sorting out my craft table in the process of decluttering and I still feel that structure and serenity are just around the corner. In the course of tidying, I came across several "repair" kits for old ski-wear with brightly hued patches. Not so difficult to throw those out, you might think? Well they are only small and, ever the optimist, I might come across something in a vivid colour that needs mending one of these days!
In a world where you can always tell yourself that things could be a lot worse, today was a good day. If I can learn to let go, tomorrow will be even better!
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