I caught the end of a documentary today about BBC correspondent Frank Gardner’s quest to see birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea. He’s a wheelchair user, having been paralysed after being shot while on assignment.
Something he said was how he now notices things that a beautiful much more than when he was able-bodied. It’s something I’ve noticed in myself too. I’m much more aware of those little bits of beauty & wonder around me, things that I didn’t notice much before getting MS. Things like noticing the way the light reflects off the bathroom taps onto the bath tiles, or being more aware of (and enjoying) birdsong, or enjoying the fragrance of the daffodils in bloom.
I wondered if that’s something that others can relate to as well?
That is interesting. I think that when I was not affected by MS I like most others rushed about and was not very conscious of much. Our brains and bodies tried to make us rapid and efficient so not waste time or resources on anything that was not part of this “speedy efficiency”
We then have a significant change and need to switch back to the more “conscious” processing in our brains, and maybe because we have had stuff taken away from us we are more aware of what we have / had.
I am so much more aware of colours and light plus I have the time to watch and appreciate the bird life and plants previously taken for granted.
I do too Dan. I’m lucky to live not far from Snowdonia mountain range, whilst we were driving “over the top” as we call it I watched a buzzard sitting on the side of the road, just looking, absolutely beautiful. Nothing like watching the sun rising over the mountain either, the world is certainly a stunning place, " what is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare" how appropriate Tracey
Yes, definitely. With me, it is closely linked to no longer working for a living and having the time and leisure to look about more (even though actually getting about is more of a problem). The weather (in my perception) got better and the skies got bigger and the hours of daylight got longer, and there were more birds and more wildlife in the garden, once I got to see them all day.
You have to take the smooth with the rough with MS - don’t you? - and being forced into a gentler pace of life has its compensations, I think. More time to notice the small marvels of the natural world and life in general.
But there is still a constant tension between those compensations (looking at the beech woods from the bedroom window) and the losses (inability to just pull on the hiking boots and charge up the hill to walk through those woods). I know how much better I feel when enjoying the compensations than when snarling about the losses.
Ah so very true …I did always notice the beauty around me but now that work has ended I have even more time to wonder. …“and stare as long as sheep and cows” … I live next to a field of cows and stared in wonder at a new calf born last week…beginning it’s life so unsteady on it’s feet it soon was leaping around staying close to it’s mum …I felt lucky …which is kind of bizarre with a broken body …
Thanks for everyone’s replies. Nice to know I’m not the only one : )
As others have said, the slower pace of life now is one reason why I notice the beauty in everyday things now. But another reason is that I need to find the beauty. Having a disease like MS means there’s a lot of pain in life (metaphorical as well as physical), and it can be easy sometimes to think that life is rubbish. So noticing these moments helps me to see that, however crap I may be feeling, life can still be good & beautiful. And I thank my God for that.
when i sit outside the cafe at rivington, overlooking the reservoir with a steaming mug of coffee, it’s an almost religious experience. all that beauty just 5 miles away from grim old westhoughton.
thanks dan for starting this thread.
i’m going to rivington bowling club cafe tomorrow because my days of freedom are numbered now thanks to ATOS.
I dread the night because of the leg pain, but the birds singing in the morning more than makes up for it at the moment. It’ll be the bluebells very soon, cant wait!! (not to mention the daffodils) come on spring!! Tracey x
Another thing I find awesome, watching the salmon jumping in the winter, the sheer urge to go on is something else, to battle so hard to go back to where they come from, dont think I have seen something so special, even in the depth of things dying back there is always something awe inspiring to witness, seriously, what a wonderful world we live in, how anyone can claim they are bored want their a**e kicking, truly beautiful things going on, if only they looked Tracey x
I think you always see beautiful things I can remember saying “there can’t be many such gorgeous drives…to the supermarket” fields and fields of rippling golden corn and what I always used to call Calamity farm, all been replaced now with shiny new sheds but used to be a ramshackle farm and house, very picturesque, but you still have to allow time for the cows crossing for milking!
Despite being mega-pi**ed off and very unhappy about having m.s. I think I do appreciate some things more now than I would have done had I not got m.s. – particularly flowers, lovely views etc.