Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
This is the 250th journal in my daily succession. It’s a milestone so strange to me that I wondered what to write about. Two hundred and fifty is, more or less, the length of our family pandemic lockdown. It’s the time since I was discharged from prostate cancer care, a milestone trivialised on learning at the same place and time that there was another cancer attacking the family.
The news from the USA today is about elections. Except that it’s not news. It’s just information from the four compass points that give us the English word. North includes the rust belt where the action is likely to be in Wisconsin and Michigan. East ranges down to the stroke belt but includes Pennsylvania where voting angst is normal. South includes the sun belt and the demographically changed golf resort called Arizona. And way out West, California is a dominant state that could have the 5th biggest economy in the world, were the most populous state to secede. That state economy is bigger than India’s and it’s running a citizen for VPotus. A citizen with ancestral roots in India.
[Read more…] about One Walk, Several ViewsThere’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.
