It’s been a long time since I walked with light footsteps. I haven’t been able to skip, dance, jog or jump for years.

Last week when I was doing the MS version (ie very little) of Joe Wicks with my two, I shocked them and myself by giving a little jump. With both my heavy feet off the floor. That may seem a nothing to most, but it was something to celebrate for me.

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These Covid days, I’m certain that most of us are taking heavier steps as the anxiety, uncertainty and grief push down on our shoulders. When will it end? No-one knows. So, do we just endure indefinitely or…

Do we search for a way to lift our heavy feet off the ground, even just once a day? Of course, treat that metaphorically and the world’s your oyster.

I haven’t been able to lift my feet high since that one time, but I have found many ways to experience lightness of heart; my husband got a bird bath for his birthday and I spend a lot of time watching it, waiting for a bird to skid in and splash around, not a heavy boot in sight. My children are constantly giggling which is a joyful sound. Watching my dog tear in crazy circles round the garden is exhilarating too.

If you can’t find anything to make you skip, remember that there is a spring right here, all around you. If you don’t have the energy to muster it up by yourself, look for the flowers blooming for you outside. No darkness, no pain, no heaviness of step or heart can stop them from springing up in all their blue, red, yellow, purple, rainbow glory.

There may not be a spring in your step, but there’s one outside your door, just waiting for you!