Bounce

Since the lead up to my recent hospital admission I’ve felt like I’ve lost some of my bounce. This isn’t terribly surprising, but it’s not a great feeling. I like being bouncy with energy and motivation to do things, so running short on physical and emotional energy can sometimes further contribute to a flatness.

After a period of a kind of flat, post-hospital hyperactivity (if that doesn’t sound too oxymoronic), today I’ve begun to feel a little more settled. I’m getting used to being in my own home again; I’m not quite so desperate to be out and about, using up energy and bounce that I don’t really have; and I’ve been able to settle down to a bit of reading for my course. My bounce - my natural bounce - is returning, although at the moment it’s more of an emotional bounce that I’m getting back than physical energy, but I know now that I’ll get there.

Mother Nature is also getting more bouncy, with there being signs of spring in the air :o) At last, the evenings are getting lighter – it was still light this evening at 6pm; the birds are returning and chirping away; the apple tree in my garden/patch of mud has new buds on it; the greengrocers has bedding plants for sale on the street; and the sun even has a hint of warmth in it again. All of these are positive, feel-good, bounce-inducing things ... things that make me smile and feel hope for the year ahead.

Sometimes it’s the small things that make a huge difference, and sometimes we have to slow down in order to notice the small things. Stop. Take a break. Sit and just be. Take time to let the little things become the focus of your attention. Enjoy it and don’t feel guilty about letting the world rush on around you – it’ll still be there when you go back to it, but you’ll have more bounce and energy for it.