I am very pleased to write a bit about the outdoor activities provided by Flourish House. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t participated so far to give them a try. When I first was introduced to Flourish it was the outdoor activities I tried first. I had been suffering from loneliness for a long time and was a bit shy of people. I was a bit put off with the idea of spending a whole morning or afternoon surrounded by many people, while the idea of the work orientated day didn’t initially appeal to me.
So, the outdoor activities were an excellent way to test the water, just short walks, and bike rides, with not too many people. I hope I can communicate just how very glad I am that I gave it a try. I’m not young and not very fit, but I was persuaded to try a led bike ride. It is a wonderful way to meet some friendly, kind people. Firstly, let’s mention the bikes. You can bring your own or use one of Flourish’s bikes, they’re well maintained, great quality bikes. I was also shown by the leaders how to hire a next bike so that I now have the confidence to hire one of those at the weekend in the Summer all by myself. The leaders showed me how to fix any issue that might conceivably arise.
It is so liberating and wonderful to be cycling in nature again. My strength and stamina gradually improved, and I gained confidence in the group of people who cycled with me. We were all in the same boat, all with much in common and now we had a new thing in common, our love of cycling!.
I think my next step into the outdoor world was social walks. Again, not too many people, just always a nice bunch who chatted merrily and who always kept the banter friendly and upbeat. Like the bike rides someone new would turn up and I found , here is the real possibility of making new lasting friendships . We would have wonderful walks, very often in parks out amongst the trees , flowers, and birds , but even on the days when it rained the camaraderie and fun always meant it felt sunny inside.
The social group greatly helped ease my anxiety about meeting new people, all sorts of people, younger and older, they were always very welcoming, I really looked forward to the social aspect and getting out of the house.
Last but certainly not least came the photo walks. These are tremendous!. I live in a very urban scheme with very little beauty about it, but the photo walks really helped us all to focus on what was beautiful around us, in all our walks. We would often stop to take a picture of perhaps, herons by a beautiful river, or especially cheeky, tiny, squirrels. Or even graffiti art that was wonderfully done. Someone was sure to draw our attention to something particularly marvelous that we might photograph or just take joy in the moment of having it in our awareness. In both our outdoor walks we would see wonderful things like deer and spectacular flowering bushes and noble trees which I might not have appreciated if not with a group of enthusiastic like-minded people.
I learned to love being out in nature again, just like I used to when I was a child, when family would chat and point out all the wonderful little treasures that there was to see. I had found a new kinship amongst the members of flourish that I walked and cycled with. Apart from these two walks and the cycle rides there are day trips organized by flourish. Often when I am out with members of flourish I feel real joy, simply in being amongst people where each of us is valued, it’s so nice to be part of a group who are altogether bonding and learning and thriving. As I got older and more isolated, I somehow lost my appreciation of nature and of the fellowship of other people, the outdoor activities gave me that back. Now that I have gained confidence I am enjoying working in the clubhouse, but I am looking forward to enjoying the outdoor activities again and the day trips which are now commencing.
– Flourish Member