The Gift of Time

This week, I am working in Sussex.  I seem to have been working in Sussex for a lifetime, but this is the last week for a little while.

I was planning to carry out a number of visits - about 2 each morning and afternoon, but on the way down to Sussex I was told that I wasn't required to carry out my planned visits on Tuesday morning, and I was unable to move any of the other planned visits to this free time.

I was frustrated at this as it meant that my earning ability was drastically reduced on this trip, but my expenditure would be the same.

So onto tuesday morning:-
Talking with the landlady of the place I'm staying in down here, she suggested I take a walk in the woods nearby for a couple of hours.

So after breakfast I strode out towards the path leading into the woods and within about a hundred yards I had slowed down, and instead of striding onwards to a destination, I took my time, I looked around me, I immersed myself in my surroundings, I listened, I watched and I became at peace with myself and I slowed down.

I saw many things including tadpoles in a pond; rabbits running from me; beautiful trees and flowers; carpets of bluebells; a hawk catching its prey; a lamb hiding behind its mother; a child's hideout in a tree; and I smelt such wonderful scents such as wild garlic, and the scents from a myriad of wild flowers.

I saw and smelt all of these things because of the Gift of Time given to me on my way down to Sussex, and the Gift of knowledge of the area given to me by my hostess.

And it started me thinking about what a Gift is.




A Gift is something given to us. If the giver knows they are giving us a gift, they may put some thought and resources into what that gift is.  The giver may spend their time and more resources in wrapping and handing over the gift.

But I think that another large part of what a Gift is, is the acceptance of that gift. And how that Gift is accepted.

In my job I have been offered many gifts, and have usually declined them for one reason or another, sometimes possibly causing offence, as the giver meant the offer with no expectation of reciprocation. Simply as a Gift.

Today, I turned what was a huge negative (by not being able to earn money) into a positive action, by accepting the Gift of the time I had to myself and taking that Gift and enjoying the time I had been given.

My Gift of Time was a very precious thing to me. It allowed me to stop rushing and smell the flowers, see things that would otherwise have gone unseen, and rest, truly rest for a couple of hours.

The acceptance of a Gift is integral to the Gift.  Without it there is no Gift.

A very rare gift is the Gift of Friendship.  I have been lucky enough to regain this gift recently.

I will endeavour to be a grateful recipient of Gifts from now on, whether they be Gifts of Friendship, Time, or any other type.

Friends are funny things.

Friends are funny things.
We sometimes have friends for all of our lives.
Sometimes we make friendships that fade for one reason or another, losing them for a while and, if we are very lucky, finding them again.

I sometimes think that a friend is a bit like a lost bunch of keys, its only when you mislay them, that you realise how much you need them.

I recently found some friends I'd mis-laid years ago, and am so grateful that I found them again.

Just like finding those bunches of keys - I am now able to open those doors once more.

Each friend is their own bunch of keys.  Some of the doors are easy to open and there is laughter on the other side, others can be uncomfortable and squeaky.  We never know what the door is going to be like until we've opened it, but they are all worth opening.

Each friend may have fun doors and squeaky doors on their bunch.

Whether those doors are fun or squeaky, I intend to work hard at not mis-laying any of the precious friends I have. 

Just like keys, I need my friends

Reunion and friends

I've never written a blog before, don't know how it should go so if you read this you may have to bear with me until I get to grips with it.

Last year I organised a reunion of two Youth Clubs from Sheffield and Falmouth.  We used to go on holidays together to the Isle of Wight or Guernsey and weekends to London as part of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs.  It sounds non-thrilling but it was fantastic and the relationships developed have stood the test of time.

This last weekend was the second reunion of the two Youth Clubs from Sheffield and Falmouth.

There were only 22 people who attended the reunion this year, out of the hundreds of people who attended the youth clubs. Two of the people who attended were the leaders of the respective youth clubs, Bob and Malcolm.

Bob and Malcolm provided a safe, loving and friendly environment for teenagers on friday evenings, and gave us so much more than just a youth club where we could play table tennis and other games.  They gave us self-confidence, brought together people from 300 miles apart and developed friendships which have lasted decades, even though those friends haven't seen each other in those decades.

This year, as Saturday progressed towards the evening, I became more and more nervous. Nervous that with only 22 people coming it wouldn't be much fun and people wouldn't enjoy the evening.  The band that we had, thought that there was going to be 75 people enjoying their performance, not the 22 we had coming.

My friends told me that it wasn't my responsibility to ensure that people enjoyed themselves but still I didn't relax.  I should have known better - we had a wonderful evening, everyone enjoyed themselves, the band were happy with the people dancing, we were happy with the band, everyone had lots of fun and a couple of people I haven't seen for way too long came to see me (I should add that they also came to see everyone else).

We laughed, we cried, we drank, we abstained.  Whatever, we were supported by our friends, our true friends.

I learnt a huge lesson: At some stage, I have to let go and let things progress as they will.  And learn to be happy with the outcome.