‘And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.’
William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, scene 1
Many years ago, a relation of mine was enjoying attending calligraphy classes. That Christmas we all received bookmarks, each one inscribed with a memorable phrase or anecdote.
Mine displayed this verse from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. It seems to sum up my feelings about the world around me and in which we live. Once we get ‘off the beaten track,’ there is so much to discover and value; so much that can enhance our lives and our appreciation and understanding of the world in which we live.
Trees – listen to the sounds made by the wind as it passes through leaves, twigs and branches. Rattle, rustle. The soft whisper as a solitary leaf floats to the ground, released from its anchor at the end of the season, as autumn draws on, slumber settles on all growing things.
Or in late spring, when the tree is in proud new leaf-flourish. A breeze plays through the leaves and makes them dance with hope, anticipation and expectation of the summer months to come.
Continue wandering through the trees and we might encounter a running brook. See how it ripples, trickles and wanders between pebbles, rocks, overhanging branches and undergrowth. Hear the different murmurings as it encounters obstacles on its way. What does it sing or whisper to you?
When in full spate the brook might proclaim joyfully – a chorus of bubbling, rushing, laughing jubilation.
Or, if the season is dry, it might be the merest trickle, creeping its way gently, lazily, sleepily.
Then, in the depths of winter we might find it frozen, paralysed in ice and frost. Strange shapes and structures caught in the act of motion and held captive until warmth should return.
Further on in our wandering – we may come across a stony beach, by river, lake or sea.
There’s a scrunch as we step onto the stony, pebbly surface. A scratchy scraping sound as one stone rubs against another. The uncertain footing – yes, it’s hard work walking in stones!
But pause for a moment and pick one up. Feel its weight, the state of its surface. Smooth? Rough? Abrasive? What colour is it? How does it feel as it sits in your hand? How many years has that stone seen? Was it washed up to that particular point one day, or has it been there forever? What stories might it tell…?
Returning from our walk, our ‘time out’, and having allowed ourselves to rest and reflect on simple things – things encountered so often we might take them for granted – we might then feel more able to perceive the ‘good in everything’ which can so enhance our lives and remind us of the joy, beauty and blessing there is to be had in so much around us.