We travel the world to see amazing things and sometimes fail to notice what is right here where we already are.

ME/CFS forced me to stop.  Over the last 5 years it caused me to spend a lot of time sitting in my chair.  At times that was a difficult experience, seeing a world outside that I could not partake in.  My suffering often blinded me to what was actually there,  and I felt alone,  forgotten,  separated and confined.

But as time progressed and I stopped fighting my reality,  gave up feeling sorry for myself and settled into acceptance of how things had to be.  I lifted my head and started to see a whole new world.

My chair faces a window and out of which I see my front garden edged by a beautiful hedge,  beyond lies a lane and over that a field.  If you cross the field you reach the shore line of Loch Creran.  I look north across the loch towards North Shian and then the hills around Appin. To the left lie views to the mountains of Kingairloch in Morvern and to the right the loch reaches up into Glen Creran and views of the mountains of Glencoe.

 

I began to notice:

seasons changed,

tides moved in and out,

the deer had 3 fawns,

grass and reeds grew,

sheep nibbled the grass

lambs were born,

the farmer cut the reeds down,

seagulls gathered always at low tide,

I wondered what they catch?

birds of prey sat on the electricity wires surveying the field,

a fox sometimes darted through the field,

3 highland cows moved in,

the quarry boat left at 8am every morning,

the fish farm boats went in and out,

yachts launched in spring left the loch,

sailing adventures ended and yachts returned,

the loch has many shades of grey, and green and blue,

sometimes I couldn’t even see the loch when the fog or mists roll in,

the mountains appeared and disappeared in the clouds,

driving horizontal rain swept in bands across the field,

white horses pranced in the high winds,

streaks of spindrift flew along the loch in the storms,

stair-rod rain never seemed to end,

sun beams streamed through the clouds,

we also got lots of clear blue skies,

beautiful pink tinged dawning days

and fiery red sunset skies,

and lots and lots of rainbows, sometimes doubles,

the snow covers the mountains,

and sometimes the shore,

hard frosts coat everything in a thick white blanket,

joggers, walkers, pram pushers, cyclists, horse riders and dog walkers all pass along the lane,

where have they come from and where do they go?

Are they neighbours, visitors, holidaymakers?

The world from my chair is immense, full and bursting with life.

I actually enjoy sitting in my chair now just looking out, but things change and I am on the go more now, I have risen from my chair and I have a plan.  I’d love to have you join me on this adventure.  You can sign up for my mailing list here and read my blogs about this journey  Walking Loch Creran here.