“Fear less, hope more,
whine less, breathe more,
talk less, say more, love more,
and all good things will be yours.”
– Swedish proverb

I woke up this morning to the wonderful, unexpected sight of several inches of snow covering London. Sensing an opportunity for something more exciting than another torture session on the rowing machine I grabbed my camera and headed out to play.

London was transformed. Sure, everywhere looked fluffy and white and different. And the sounds of the city were muffled amidst the weird ethereal glow of dawn. But they were not the transformations that struck me. The people in London were different today.

No buses ran this morning, and cars were few. So people were walking. Walking in numbers I have never seen before. People were taking photographs of the snow, with every shape and size of camera or on their mobile phones. The familiar made unfamiliar, and with that came a renewal of wonder and appreciation. Commuters smiled at each other, a wry British amusement that 6″ of snow should incapacitate our nation, an appreciation of the absurdity of slipping and sliding to work in shiny black brogues, and the realisation that we never lose our child’s love of snow. Most people were late for work; few minded. And a snowman appeared in front of Buckingham Palace.

Imagine if every day was like today.

No congestion on the streets, walking to work and breathing in the fresh air, leaving home 5 minutes earlier to make time to pause and stand and stare. Appreciating an aspect of beauty in everything you see, smiling at strangers, and feeling upbeat about your day ahead.

Of course, tomorrow the snow will be a grey slush, people’s inboxes will be bursting, and the moaning and rushing will resume. But for one day, just one day, London was different.

See more pictures of the snow in London here.