De-confinement here in France since May 11th, and unfortunately the noise from the traffic on the near-by busy road has also been released once again. I so much enjoyed the peace, the tranquillity. Being able to hear the birds sing uninterrupted was such a joy. Also given the fact that it is the season of Spring, and the birds are all so busy making nests and having their young ones added a nice cherry to the cake. I so enjoyed this Pyrénèéèn paradise minus all the interruptions from man. When I walked by the river in the mornings I practically had it all to myself. I am very lucky, where I live it is so beautiful and, accessible. I have mother nature at her finest right on my door-step. The magic of it all is just breath-taking, and it was even more so when it was so quiet. When the eagles soared overhead they not only as usual looked so graceful, but they also had this air of contentment about them also. They were rightly reclaiming their space, they seemed to dance on the breeze in relief of not having toxic fumes to inhale. They could look down from their skyward heights and not see congestion. The birds sang louder in unison with the joy of nature reclaimed. The wild spring flowers seemed brighter in color. The color of the mountain river, it too joined the thanksgiving chorus, and its water sparkled brighter. The whole of nature was in a state of beautiful bliss. The COVID-19 virus has given us a lot to think about, but thankfully it has gifted us a glimpse of what the planet could look like if we changed our ways. In the spiring of 2020 something terrific and unprecedented happened; pollution levels fell dramatically (as production levels came to a virtual halt), less traffic on the roads, less movement of people, less disturbance of nature as the entire planet stopped. The pause button was pressed and nature could breathe once again. We have now experienced it for ourselves first hand. We know the damage that we are doing. now we have to speed up and keep the momentum and allow for nature to be able to breathe and thrive all the time. I hope that after this experience, that we as a collective, or at least a large majority of us will keep up the cause for the empowerment and the betterment of the natural world. That we will wake up to the fact that this is not ‘our’ planet, that in fact, we share it. Nature does not belong to us, for us to do what we wish. We have to respect Mother Nature, otherwise, we too will be at the loss.
