The ordinary and familiar

I recently read a piece on a daily email I subscribe to about how familiar things are often very ordinary things which bring us enjoyment and comfort. Sometimes it is only when something familiar disappears from our life do we realise how much we took it for granted and what benefit we gained from it.

It might be as simple and ordinary as a view out a window, a tree in the garden, the smell of sunshine in dry washing, the laugh of a loved one.

There is much beauty and pleasure in the ordinary and focusing away from the bombardment of drama and hype, information overload, busyness and stress can be so good for our wellbeing.

Right now we are in the midst of spring, that familiar part of the seasonal cycle which turns each year. It is easy to feel the extraordinary power of this season but keep an eye out for the ordinary detail that we can sometimes miss and enjoy.

Here are some familiar, ordinary sights from my garden today.

Flowering Jasmine

Self sown white primula

Self sown white and blue forget-me-nots in a pot full of shells and rocks.

Look at the changes within the magnolia flower

Magnolia petals have fallen and left this beautiful detail

Pelagonium flowers from a cutting taken from the roadside in 1998 and still flowering in pots in my garden today.

The very ordinary, very familiar but pretty, bright flower of the dandelion

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