On friday last week I was sat by my mums grave having put some flowers in the vase, it would have been her 89th birthday. I miss her, but the sun was shining and as I looked across the fields I felt at peace, knowing that she had lived a good long life.
A few days earlier my neighbour was found laying in his garden, he had been suffering with ill-health for a while. His life came to an end at the age of 48, and although we didn’t have a lot to do with each other I am really feeling his absence in the street. He lived opposite me so I would often see him coming and going, but the fact that he is no longer there has changed the landscape of my life.
The natural landscape is changing all around us at the moment as mother nature begins to paint a new scene before our eyes. She is taking her time over it but autumn is slowly emerging, and life is becoming full of colour and breath-taking beauty. One thing we can always rely on is the ever-changing landscape of the seasons and we adjust and adapt fairly quickly. A quick dig around for our favourite jumpers, jeans and boots and we are ready to go, but when the people who are part of that landscape are no longer there it takes a lot more time to adjust, and we are forced to take stock of our own lives.
When those we know or love are taken from us whether through old age or an unexpected event it’s as if the artist has erased that figure from the canvas, everything else looks the same but a vital part of our life’s painting is missing. We have to gently and gradually work our way through until one day we can look at that painting again realizing that it actually looks ok, different but ok.
Isnt it so easy to take people for granted at times? We can be so wrapped up in the busyness of our lives that we can forget to acknowledge our neighbours, those people who make up our daily landscape. It seems a sad but true fact that we are sometimes more aware of their absence when the unexpected occurs than we were of their presence.
As we work our way through the beauty of this amazing season and take time to applaud the vibrancy of autumns best, why not take time to acknowledge those little strokes of colour that add interest and depth to our life’s landscape. They may be a family member a neighbour, a shop worker or even the postman. They all play a part. And who knows how much colour you could add to their landscape with just an unexpected “hello” or “how are you?” or even an unexpected hug and “I love you” (the postman would be smiling all the way down the road!!)
Why not give it a try, I’m quite sure that the landscape of your life will be all the more beautiful for it.
Love Alison x
Through rose tinted glasses. 
So very true and wonderfully written. In March two years ago I flew to Ireland for my mothers 90th birthday. Two months later I flew to Ireland for her funeral. We used to live on a street with all young families and lots of kids. Last year we moved to an older neighbourhood. We seem to see ambulances all the time parked outside some door.
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Thank you, yes its sad that we have to cope with loss and sometimes so suddenly and unexpected. Its always worrying seeing an ambulance at a neighbours door and more so when we often dont know why.
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I enjoyed your blog and the way you described loss so beautifully. Our landscape changes in such simple and dramatic ways when we lose a person from our lives This is where I’ve learned to use gratitude and appreciation to make sure they know even when they’re gone, they will always be in my heart. Thanks for a lovely post, Alison.
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Im glad you enjoyed it Laura. Yes it does change, my street still feels quite empty with the loss of my neighbour and the whole street is suffering a little as he was so young. Your right practising gratitude is a good thing.
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Beautifully written Alison. Like your allegory and the message in your post. So true. I’m grateful your path have crossed mine. I love to surround myself with kind, intelligent and creative people. You are definitely one of them! Have a lovely week ahead.
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Ah thank you Domonique, such lovely words of encouragement that I will definitely take on board. You have a lovely week too.
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💟💟💟🎃🎃🍁
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Lovely nature shots. But so sorry to hear about your neighbour – he died too young.
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Yes he did and it makes you think and be thankful for the life you have.
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Beautiful words. About appreciating the changing seasons and the everyday life around us. I do like your allegory. But sorry to read about your neighbour.
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Thank you Otto. Yes it was sad that his life was cut short. It makes me want to appreciate what I have even more.
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This is achingly beautiful and heartbreaking. I’m sorry for the loss of your mom and your neighbor. Sending hugs…
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Thank you for reading and Im glad you appreciated my thoughts.
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