healingwords: poetry for the soul

My daughter took this photograph this morning on her daily walk. She lives in a town near Barcelona that is usually buzzing with people and cars at this time in the morning, going to work, school, the roads head to tail with traffic heading into the City. The restrictions allow healthy adults to exercise or walk between 6 and 10 and then from 8 until 11 in the evening. Many will use the evening hour as they have children to mind, some are still working or others just used to a slower start to the day. The return to work will be a shock for many, like the worse of Mondays after summer holidays. Despite our desire for normality there is a feeling of anxiety about being out and about and how we will navigate what is being called here, the new normal. 

This is where I love to walk, a path through the trees on the hillside near my village. When restrictions were first placed on our movement I imagined we would still be able to go out for a walk and not being able to is difficult to deal with. I do understand that what seems safe for us in a country village would not be so in the towns and cities and if families living in blocks of flats are not allowed to walk in the park we also have to suffer this restriction. I am fortunate.  I can still see the trees from my roof terrace and bedroom window and can walk there in my mind. Meanwhile, the path will return to nature, left only to the wild animals.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

A week has passed since I have been out the door, a week since I have seen my family, held my newborn grandson, played with his brother. The sadness of isolation is tempered by the knowledge we are keeping each other safe.  As I write this the sound of Parcent band members is echoing over the village as they play together with Valencian musicians all over the Communitat in honour of San Jose. It is a fiesta here today, the celebration of fallas, a day when families get together. Today we do what we can to keep cheerful.  We also do what we can to protect our loved ones. As in times gone by when people suffered without hospitals, medicines and modern care we add a prayer and a wish to our daily routines, appealing to our Gods and Goddesses or just the healing power of love and nature. If it doesn't help it can not harm and at least we feel like we are involved and somehow less powerless. In my house we light candles, in memory of my parents who lit candles for us, to co...

This fragile, empty bird shell struck me as both an example of strength and continuity. Whole, it nurtured life as the bird grew and left its shell. Then it became a source of nutrients for scavenging ants feeding off the remains. As we worry about our own fragility nature reminds us life survives and continues, new life born from the most delicate of habitats.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

Today the mountain is shrouded with cloud as a week of rain descends on the valley. It heightens the feeling of confinement which even after a few days is starting to affect those used to their freedom. We are already thinking of how in the weeks ahead we will need to develop resilience and help each other through the emotional roller coaster of fear, isolation and boredom.  The rain is gentle, unlike the torrential Spring rains that can torment this land, striping the hills, damaging rural roads and leaking into village houses. I am reminded that this is good rain, good for the trees, the plants, the land, the creatures. While I remain inside, the trees and flowers are drinking, leaves greening, blooming for the bees and the butterflies to feed and pollinate.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

Day 1 of our imposed isolation in Spain, although in reality we have been self isolating and manically bleaching now for over a week. I am one of the at risk groups and have been aware since cases in Italy started to rise of the risks to my own health and my families. It was a strange feeling yesterday, empty streets, bars shut, supermarkets rammed with desperate shoppers who had left it late to shop. In the afternoon I arrived back from my last country walk to hear the Town Hall giving instructions by 'bando' the megaphone Town Crier system still used in our village. The reality of the situation and my gratitude to our new young Councillors bearing such a sombre responsibility struck me and I stood to listen with tears in my eyes.  The isolation is already strange, we are either laughing or crying, panicking or maintaining a strange calm. I am trying to keep calm, worry does not help and I need to support my children and their families. My grandson can not un...

The corona virus is becoming a worrying challenge for many of us. Even the young and strong face the fear of infecting their more vulnerable family and friends while anyone with a health condition, pregnant or over an age where we are now labelled 'elderly' have real fears for our own and others safety. This fear can become overwhelming adding stress and the effect of the bodies chemical response racing through our minds and bodies. I am hoping today to get out into nature, I am lucky the woods are only 5 minutes away and visible from my third floor window. When I can not walk far or need to stay indoors I can always close my eyes and in seconds be there, with the breeze whispering through the branches, birds singing their presence, the sun warming my face as my fears melt and the tightness aching my body starts to ease.  I wish everyone peace and good health. That we find the strength to support each other, stay as safe as possible and face our fears and reality with cal...