This is the week of our famous Chelsea Flower Show in London. I am sure, like me, many, many people here in the UK are taking delight in watching the daily television broadcasts from the show. Yesterday the ‘gold medals’ were awarded for the best gardens and internal exhibits of wonderful flowers and exotic plants. One of the winners was Charlotte Rowe for her garden ‘No Man’s Land’ which commemorated the centenary of the start of the World War I. I was very impressed when Charlotte was interviewed, talking not only of the remembrance of all the soldiers who died in the trenches—in a truly creative way she had portrayed the trenches in the garden—but also the concept of re-birth and lessons learned through the tragedy of war.
I am
lucky to have my own garden, and I’m able to walk in the countryside, and this
time of year—late spring in the UK—is,
for me, one of the most beautiful seasons of the whole year. After the darkness
of winter the days are long and the hedgerows full of new life. The birds are
singing and the sun has been shining. There is so much for which to say ‘thank
you God’.
Someone
on the Retreat I conducted here at New Lands at the end of April/early May told
me her secret of happiness. She said: ‘Whatever is going on in my life, I say
thank you!’ I was very taken with this and what she went on to say about
‘appreciation’ as a quality she was trying to bring more into her life. ‘Every
day I look for things I can appreciate’, she said, ‘Not just the easy things,
but difficulties too’.
So whilst
we may naturally reflect on the sorrows of war, and often feel overwhelmed by
our present circumstances, there can be so much inner enrichment and strength
flooding into our hearts through appreciation and thankfulness. Yes, there are
many tragic stories from history and in the present day, but so much also to
appreciate and enjoy in our beautiful world, and which brings the gift of
heavenly sunshine into our lives.
As White
Eagle says in 'Prayer, Mindfulness and Inner Change': ‘We want to put into your heart this thought of a continual
outpouring of thankfulness for everything—for life, for food, for the joy of
living, even for those experiences which may appear to be bitter, for even
these hold blessings for the child of God.’
