This morning I was surprised by honeysuckle as I walk through the woods…
No, it didn’t jump out from behind the trees.
Instead, as I walked I had started to become attuned to the rich variety of scents and sounds in the late summer/early autumn stillness.
The peppery smell that is so subtle and yet distinctive at this time of the year in the valley. Stillness across the lake so that the bark of the silver birch is reflected in the early morning sunlight.
And then honeysuckle. Not overpowering, but catching my attention and inviting me to linger in its presence. Watching a late bee still looking for pollen in its waxy white arms.
There is so much ugliness currently in the world. Ugliness of deed and attitude. It’s easy to feel contaminated and hopes diminished.
But what if we still our hearts and open ourselves to be surprised by beauty?
In people. Or nature. In the little things. Things made with care. And the wide-open sky…
Then savour them. Appreciating the moment.
Letting it release the beauty within us, infecting who we are and what we do.
I wonder what beauty will surprise you today?