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Snowdrops at last, Burns night again and another dog!
I am so excited. The first snowdrops and aconites, those brave little pioneers of spring are lighting up a dark corner of the garden.
The flowers seem so fragile, but just think of the guts and determination it must take to chisel through the frozen soil, just to remind us all that spring is on the way, even if there is more tough stuff to come. I was giving a talk to the staff of a Health Centre the other day, and I took in a small glass with a few aconites in it. The flowers were all tightly closed at the beginning, but at the end of the session they had opened up to share their smiling yellow faces. The water and the warmth of the room had done it. The interesting thing is that no one in the room noticed it happening. The change was imperceptible, but nevertheless it was happening in front of our very eyes. That never fails to surprise. Change is like that, it is happening all the time just as the planet is turning, but we virtually ignore it. Churchill said "If you don't take change by the hand, it will take you by the throat". That sounds a bit harsh, but I know so many people who resist change, who are actually frightened of change. That is what is meant by staying in your comfort zone! More of that later.
Those of you who read this column regularly will know that I had quite enough of death last year. 2007 was going to be the year of the living. God smiles while men make plans, and Thursday found me at another family funeral. My oldest cousin had given up the struggle, and gone on to the next phase of existence. Although a retiring sort of man, his wife is a real live wire, and between them they had eight wonderful children. When I was a teenager I was their regular baby-sitter, so got to know the older ones very well. That was years ago, and it was good to see them again, even though it was a sad occasion. I always think funerals are quite fun, if you are not too sad, and this one turned out to be a terrific send off. After the committal the family booked us into a big Glasgow hotel, and we had a slap up lunch. From these eight children there was a splendid array of 27 very cute grandchildren. They were all there sitting beautifully at their table, when suddenly one of the grown up sons leapt up and announced that he was going to perform "Tam O'Shanter. It was Burns Day after all, and everyone needed cheering up, didn't we? Well, at the first mad incomprehensible mutterings of that famous poem, the grandchildren all went a bit crazy. They started laughing and shouting and running around like a pack of puppies. Suddenly they were under the tables, crawling around, screaming and chasing, as if someone had cast a spell on them. Adults, although a bit embarrassed by the performer themselves, were all trying to shush the children, looking round, fingers to mouths. As "Tam" became more and more excited, he actually leapt up on to a chair, winding himself into a further frenzy of mad Scots babble, his tiny daughter appeared, and hung on to his trouser legs "Daddy please stop it!" she begged but to no avail. She was scooped up and became part of the drama, racing along on Meg's strong back! It was so hard not to laugh. It finally came to an end and the applause was filled with relief and amazement, and admiration for the dogged determination to plod on when every single thought in the room was probably, "Perhaps this isn't the best time!" Talk about "Out of Comfort Zone" It really was a learning experience.
And finally we have a visiting dog, which may become a regular in our house. The dearest little Westie called Basil. He has been taken on by my son and future daughter-in-law, because he was terrorising her parents' other dog. Less of a terrorist you could not imagine. He has already won over our hearts, and is so completely different from our Springer spaniel, that it is like having a new baby in the house all over again! He's already ventured into areas of the house that Rocket is never allowed into, and we all look on indulgently. Life can't seem very fair to Rocket at the moment, but he'll just have to get used to it. So that'll be his comfort zone moment!
So the message this week, is that comfort zones are never very comfortable really - it's just that fear of the unknown keeps us from venturing forth. My resolution for February is to see if I can be as brave as snowdrops, and Basil, and mad cousins, and push out my own comfort zone a little. Who knows what joys lie beyond? "If we don't change we don't grow, and if we don't grow we aren't really living." (Gail Sheey).
Jo Middlemiss is a Personal Life Coach who lives and works in Edzell. She can be contacted on 01356 648329.
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Weather for Brechin
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 3 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: South
