Joanne on remembering to behold the interludes of delight

(Images: Joanne Kalan)

Finally the season we long for is here. To imagine summer throughout the year is to wish for days of fun and travel, visits to family and friends, cycling and swimming, the long days of sunshine and cold lemonade. I have loved summer days of gardening and driving to places I haven't visited before. Yet, it is the tiny interludes of summer delights that have caught my attention over a few summer seasons. This summer I decided to focus on these mini pauses of delight, which then highlights my need for pausing and resting.

I find delight in the colourfulness of summertime berries. Either while picking berries or pausing at breakfast time with a bowl of tiny fruit, I contemplate the berries like artwork. Not only are they delicious, they are delightful to behold. The food experience is then slowed and infused with awe and gratitude.

Delight is found in looking at flowers in the garden, and after a rain fall, how the flower petals hold the raindrops. I pause in the garden to fully behold the flowers for their uniqueness, their vibrancy, and their delight in the sunshine and water. This causes me to remember to thank the sunshine and rain, like the plants do.

My new-found activity of bird-watching pauses the busy-ness of any day throughout the year, however it is when the birds congregate at the bird bath during the summer, I am joyfully delighted in their happiness. The birds love the bird bath, their need for water to drink and bathe is met, and they talk and sing to each other. I have even watched birds practice patience and sharing with each other. To behold these daily interludes of bird-joy is a delight that summer gives freely.

I am learning to behold the small moments of delight and let them become an important part of a summer's day, which heightens the joy and the restfulness of the season.