Speed of modern world means we don’t notice life around us

I have been sorting through some memorabilia from childhood recently.

Was anyone else a member of the Tufty Club? Tufty Fluffytail was created by Elsie Mills MBE as part of her work on child safety initiatives for RoSPA (Royal Society for the prevention of Accidents).

The iconic red squirrel helped to communicate simple road safety messages to millions of children from 1953 onward.

Or you may remember the Green Cross Code from the 1970s, represented by a costumed superhero character, also created to promote safety in crossing the road.

His particular motto was “Stop, Look and Listen”… good advice still for anyone trying to cross the road safely, and perhaps for other times too!

We live in a world that appears to be ever increasing in speed, whether that’s a supercar, superfast internet, moving money around, all sorts of communication – everything needs to happen now, if not sooner!

I love this time of year, the season of spring when all sorts of trees, plants and flowers seem to come to life and the grass begins to grow at a pace. But do we stop to look and listen enough to really enjoy such blessings?

It was during a recent visit to my childhood home I took a familiar walk along a path that runs through a park.

It is a path I have rushed along many times over the years as a shortcut from A to B. But this time there was no rushing. It was a beautiful day and I had the rare joy of having with me my almost two-yearold great-nephew. It wasn’t just because his legs are shorter the walk took so much longer, but was because of his awe and wonder at the sight of flowers appearing, and the bugs starting to come out. He was delighting in the walk. He was noticing those everyday things of life that I would have otherwise just walked past because of the speed I have got so used to, that the pressures of life seem to demand.

The Bible tells us, in Lamentations 3 v22-24: “The faithful love of the LORD never ends!

…His mercies begin afresh each morning.”

Maybe we would do well to take the advice of The Green Cross code man – to “Stop, Look and Listen” – not just when crossing the road and not just when walking through a park, but in every part of our lives. In so doing we will avoid the danger of missing out on the beauty of life, time with the people that we love and time to acknowledge the gift of the everyday blessings around us.

May the Lord bless and keep you.