Today’s Affirmation
I accept my past without judgement, and Relish the Opportunity to Learn
I knew when my friend asked me the simple question it would cause a rethink!
Where did you spend your childhood holidays?
I spent sometime explaining that as a young child, about the age of 5 or 6, my parents had taken us abroad, mainly to the Mediterranean, for our holidays. This was quite unusual in the mid to late 60’s. Although unusual, for the working classes at least, it was made possible as Spain began to open itself up to tourism following its transition from a State run as an Autarky ruled by the military dictator Francisco Franco, to one pursuing economic liberalisation.
After this little discourse into my childhood my friend then made the following observation.
You were so lucky to have been given the opportunity to explore Europe at such a young age.
Suddenly. like a light bulb being turned on, I realised that, yes, I was so fortunate to have had this opportunity and that I had never really appreciated the value of these experiences, let alone felt the gratitude to my parents for giving us, I have a brother and a sister, these experiences at such a pivotal moment in our lives.
My Parents both worked and we were a typical working class family. I never really appreciated how hard they must have worked to allow us to travel all over Europe and have such memorable holidays. I still have vivid memories of all the countries we travelled through on our way to Spain or Italy, from turquoise lakes in the Alps to beautiful idyllic villages in Germany.
Spain’s tourist industry was, at this time, in its infancy and the little fishing villages and market towns we visited had the feel of an authentic Spanish culture that sadly seems to have long gone. I have memories of traditional Flamenco dancers performing in open air bars and feeling great amusement as my parents tried to communicate with non-English speaking Spaniards as English was hardly heard at that time.
So, I’d like to give a big posthumous thank you to my parents for the wonderful experiences they gave me. Sadly both my parents are dead and I cannot thank them in person.
The train of thought initiated by my friends comment ultimately lead to remember a moment in my life that stirred my young mind into pondering such great philosophical thoughts as to the meaning of life, the Universe and everything, that ultimately lead me down a path to forming an animistic, nature spirituality that has sustained me since that time. It was whilst travelling over the Pyrenees that we had to park up and sleep overnight in the car. I have a vivid memory of getting out of the car and being amazed by the sight of a field full of glow-worms. But what made it even more amazing was the sheer beauty of the sky, having never seen the milky-way with such clarity I was totally blown away by the sight of the night sky. The awe I felt in my soul was, and still is, indescribable. The vision of the night sky was reflected in the vision of the glow-worms on the ground, it was like seeing the sky mirrored on the grounds. Later this was to be a memory that helped me understand the Hermetic principle ‘As above, so below; as below, so above’.
Perhaps this is why I get such pleasure and joy from such simple things as seeing the dog digging in the sand on the beach with a look of sheer joy in her eyes, to sitting and just being mindful of the Sea and it’s sounds?
Gratitude
- The beauty of nature
- A loving family
- Good friends
- The example set by the dogs, the joy in simple pleasures
- Living in such a beautiful setting
- The Sun on my back
- The sound of the jackdaws in the garden
- Feeling healthy and positive
- The NHS and all those who work so hard to care for others
- My loving parents who ensured I had such wonderful experiences whilst growing up
Well that’s another snippet out of my life! Have a wonderful day my friends…
My Day 