Nick Fawcett (devotional and reflective writer)

So, is it possible to remain cheerful in the midst of this coronavirus crisis? Categorically, yes. Of course, if you’ve a loved one critically ill in hospital or, worse still, you’re the one who’s lying there; or, indeed, if you’ve just been bereaved; it’s a different story, but if, like me, you’re one of those confined to your home and garden for at least the next three months for your own protection, that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to sink into an ever-deepening depression. There are reasons still to be happy, things still to celebrate, especially – I believe – in the world of nature. Take a look, for example, at the pictures below.

Excuse the quality – I’m no photographer – but you get the idea, don’t you? Spring, in the UK at least, has suddenly burst upon us, and with it a riot of colour and new growth. So then, if you have a garden or are still allowed out once each day for exercise, take the time to look around at the plants around you … and I mean really look. Don’t settle for a casual glance. Look at the colours – their sheer variety and contrast … at the exquisite pattern of so many of the flowers … at the intricate veins of leaves … at the delicate beauty or strident loveliness of the blooms. Savour the scent of hyacinths, narcissi, jonquils and other specimens of this special season. Look, and look again. Pause, and drink it all in. Spend five, ten, fifteen minutes, simply gazing and marvelling. Trust me, you’ll feel better for it.

So often, and too easily, we take such wonders for granted, allowing them to pass us by. Live, instead, in the moment. Use this enforced time of solitude to help you slow down, to take stock, and to appreciate what habitually we fail to appreciate as much as we should. Delight in the awesomeness of a simple flower: truly, something to celebrate.