Astonishment and Awe

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention

Be astonished

Tell about it

Mary Oliver

For this week’s Lens Artist Challenge, Beth asks us to show shots of what has astonished us, and takes her inspiration from this short poem by Mary Oliver.

For some reason, my mind was drawn back to Lockdown. For us, Daily Exercise was one of the pleasures of that peculiar time. Country dwellers, we could range freely over our home patch without meeting a soul. And here, it happened to be a wonderful spring, where plants, birds and all life could flourish in balmy temperatures and just the right amount of rain.

Walking by myself down deserted paths – M was exploring on his bike – I discovered Wonder and Astonishment anew. Day by day, I could watch leaves unfurl from tightly-bound buds; flowers appear; lambs totter their first hesitant steps.

I had the leisure to enjoy the intricately-designed feathers of a common-or-garden mallard, or the complexity of dandelion petals.

Best of all, creatures we rarely saw close up crossed my path. Who expects to stumble by a toad on a riverside stroll? Or, best of all, come across shy curlews nesting within a foot of a normally well-used road across the moors.

Skies, undefaced by plane trails seemed more multi-faceted and interesting. And back home, day after day, hour after hour, from dawn until darkness, this thrush gave an apparently unending performance with almost no breaks.

Such a time of loneliness, grief and isolation for many remains in my memory a period of joy in the rediscovery of the astonishment offered by the countryside just outside our front door.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

35 thoughts on “Astonishment and Awe”

  1. I guess it’s still there, Margaret, if you allocate the time to it. We did something similar but over time the repetition jarred with me, though I was delighted by it to begin with. We are only just returning to some of those paths now and recognising old treasures. I try to stay grateful that we have them xx

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    1. I made it my challenge to do a different walk every single day. Obviously it often included bits and pieces of well-walked paths, but I was surprised at how many new places to explore I found in an area I thought I knew quite well.

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  4. My lockdown spring was just like this. Awe and astonishment everywhere, with the disarming background of fear and uncertainty and worry for vulnerable loved ones. It was a unique time.

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  8. Living in a city our lockdown walks were more restricted than yours but nevertheless I recognise that sense of discovering the small things and wonderful details in nature, helped by that wonderful spring weather!

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  9. Margaret, how lucky you are to live in a place where you had such an abundance of natural wonders to discover. I agree. There is so much to astonish us in nature. Thank you for responding to the challenge with your wonderful images.

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  11. Excellent post, Margaret, and I think being a Country Mouse served you well at Lockdown. I, too, recognise that sense of discovering the small things and wonderful details in nature, having access to some rural areas.

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    1. I didn’t know you couldn’t use beaches for walking. How silly! They’re excellent walking trails in many cases. I somehow dug out lots of paths I hadn’t previously discovered (and some of which got fenced off after Lockdown was over) and felt quite the Pioneer!

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