Berwick Thought for the Week: So much beauty to see and hear

As my wife and I were walking our dogs one morning, I was reminded of one of the lines of a favourite prayer: “Please God, just for today, help me to see and hear all the beauty that I so often ignore.”

There was indeed so much beauty to see and hear. The weather was glorious and the Town Walls and the Tweed and its bridges looked as picturesque as ever.

I was surrounded by the most beautiful birdsong and we spent quite some time talking to friends and acquaintances that we met along the way (much to the frustration of our dogs who just wanted to be walking). How lucky are we.

Sometimes we, all of us, become weary as a result of all the negative media headlines and by some of the truly awful things that are happening in and to our world. And, it is so easy to become absorbed by the complexity of our everyday lives that we do forget to see and hear all the beauty that surrounds us.

Easy to say perhaps, as someone who doesn’t work as many hours as he used to, but take time to appreciate the beauty in our lives, the love of friends and family and never lose a sense of wonder.

To those struggling with jobs, businesses or careers, remember what Winston Churchill said: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”.

And when it comes to love, remember the words of Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Sometimes it may not seem so, but we are truly blessed.

David Harper is a Berwick resident who runs his own planning, property and environmental consultancy. When he’s not working or spending time with his wife, Colette, and their two boys and their families, he can be found restoring old cars and motorbikes.