Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
There’s a maple tree by our front door. It goes orange most years and this year, it’s more orange than it has been for years. I thought I’d collect a leaf a day in November and build a picture if I keep adding them, one leaf at time, to a pile on the glass of my desktop scanner.
The Chef’s Table might appear to be an unusual source of spiritual inspiration. Or so you might think if you’ve not heard of the Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan. I probably won’t ever go to Korea which is a shame because places are what make my memories. I know this because I’ve travelled extensively. I also know that while the destinations are wonderful, it’s the people that add the vitality. I guess she adds more vitality than most.
I’d like to recommend this Netflix program to you because I think it’s about meditation. I think we may be able to achieve serenity from total immersion in the kitchen. Did you ever think that cooking can do that for us? Watch and see if you might agree. It’s a good program so you’ve nothing to loose.
I was sitting by a window, rereading some of the short chapters that make The Hidden Life of Trees so easy to follow and enjoy. It had been raining hard throughout the night. The term ‘pelting’ had come to my sleepy mind as gusts of wind drove the raindrops onto our windows, sounding like the huge hail that sometimes makes us doubt the strength of glass.
I had a bad few days recently. But first, since I’m not qualified to have opinions on why my days were so bad, here are a few weasel words.
Caveat emptor: my musings may not be complete let alone correct.
The full story starts with a fear of failure. It starts with the worry that my attempts to manage my cholesterol with diet were failing. It ended with a realisation that I wasn’t able to finish any of my daily journals.
This isn’t a recipe for a ten leaf salad. It’s just a list of the potential ingredients. It’s what I like to eat after a thirty or forty kilometre hill walk. I’m usually tired and hungry enough that I become lazy, estimating the quantities by bags, half bags or handfuls. I chuck them all into a large mixing bowl, calories uncounted and if eating alone, I eat it all from the same bowl.
Our media are showing restaurants and bars, cinemas and sports. There is an emphasis on we are missing. On the face of it, the global media appear to be pandering to and reinforcing our anxieties.
