Ten Minutes – Just Be

Yesterday, I was sitting outside in my garden, enjoying the lovely sunny weather. It was a blissful way to spend a few hours. Calm, relaxing and the heat of the sun was delightful.

Whilst sitting outside, a seagull landed on our fence. Nothing unusual about this as we get a lot of birds in our garden. However, seagulls don’t tend to stay long as usually there is nothing for them to eat.

This bird sat on the fence for at least 20 minutes. It was not in the least bit bothered about me being there and I was the same with it. It moved from one leg to the other, balancing well. It looked around observing what was happening, taking it all in.

Whilst I know what a pest these birds can be, I watched it for a while. It was calm and not phased by me at all. I reached for my drink of water, moved my notebook or stretched out at times and still it sat there watching. It appeared to be at peace in its surroundings and apart from it ruffling it’s feathers occasionally or opening its mouth wide it sat there quite happily.

Eventually it flew off, and I was pleased I hadn’t scared it away, instead I just let it be.

How often do we just let things be? We are always doing the ‘ing’ in being.

Sitting in the garden I am always doing something. Whether it is looking at my phone, reading, making a list or chatting. I can easily say it is very rare for me to sit and just be.

Once the seagul flew away, I decided to stop what I was doing and spend 10 minutes noticing the sounds and movements around me.

I was surprised by the number of birds singing and the noises of the forest – breeze blowing in the trees, snapping of twigs as people in the woods walk through, the rustling of branches as birds pick the leaves or branches to get comfy on the tree they have landed on.

There was the occasional man-made noise of a person in the street driving or a door closing. Or a plane overhead and the creaking of the house as the warmth heats it up. Bees were buzzing nearby. Overall it was very restful and serene.

By just letting me be, I was enjoying my surroundings and felt at peace with the world. How often do we get to take 10 minutes out and just sit in silence? Well, the natural silence, listening to the hum of nature.

I saw a lot of white butterflies, at one point four were dancing around together. I watched the clouds float by in the blue sky, birds fly from trees to rooftops, to gardens and back into the trees. You could say it was a pretty busy 10 minutes for nature.

I was so focused on listening to the almost silence that at one point the peace was shattered by a crow, it squawked so loudly, I actually jumped!

There were of course many insects, from big to small, flying about and landing on things, some left quickly others stayed for a moment or two. The butterflies kept coming and dancing and hoverflies approached my drinking bottle with its bright oranges floral pattern, clearly looking for some nectar which sadly the bottle was unable to provide.

Lots of floaty white fluffy seeds were flying about, it was good to watch them as they seemed to be dancing to their own beat and would float on by.

I am really surprised by spending 10 minutes observing the sights and sounds in my garden, how this can be completely relaxing. I am lucky to live in quiet neighbourhood with woods behind. It is all so wonderful for nature being close to us and even in the quiet it certainly makes its presence known.

Why not take 10 minutes out of your day, away from phones, computers, tablets and distractions, find a good spot to sit and watch and listen to world happen around you. Just be. Really notice what is happening for example, the tiniest of tiny flies landing on your leg or a bird balancing precariously on the overhanging branch, or even the movement of the cobwebs in the breeze. Ten minutes is really an insignificant amount of time, I am sure you can fit it in.

Wishing you a wonderful week to just be. Thank you for reading.

Look after you.

Love Emma xx