Wednesday 30th March 2022
It’s been a while since I last shared a recording of the waves from Nairn beach. Frothy, snowy, cold fingered morning. An invigorating swim in between the blizzards and Mallards by the shore.
Susie Dent’s writing introduced me to the word Confelicity. The pleasure in another’s happiness. A lovely word. Confelicity, feels good saying it. Feeling good about someone else’s happiness is a key feature of staying mentally well. It is also the foundation of the volunteering community.
These nature notes are often intentionally not personally focused, but every now and then something personal happens that is very much worth sharing. Mum, Dee to many, is an inspiration. Almost ten years ago to the day she had a lung removed due to lung cancer. She is already five years past the prognosis given to her by the medical team back in Essex.
Mum and dad moved with us when we relocated to Scotland back in 2019. You can read about my ten lessons from moving to the coast with my extended family here. It was amazing that they chose to relocate with us at their stage of life. Then Covid came and mum has been on the shielding list ever since.
We can be guilty of taking Spring for granted when we are young. The Daffodils come and go and we might see them en route to somewhere. Mum has been looking forward to seeing the Daffodils in a way many of us will not understand.
She mentioned that one of her bucket list dreams was to stroke a baby lamb. After a couple of calls, we found ourselves on a remote hillside in a blizzard and there they were. Two week-old baby lambs.
To see mum feeding a bottle of milk to the baby lamb, shivering on the snowy hilltop, was the epitome of confelicity. “I’ll never get this chance again,” she said as she stroked and hugged the lamb, full of love.
Confelicity. How can you bring happiness into the life of another? There are countless ways. It can be a bucket list dream or a simple random act of kindness. Try it tomorrow, it makes you feel good.
Nairn Beach Notes