Running along the ground
Then uphill, through the air,
As if climbing an invisible flight of steps,
And then I am flying.
Soaring above buildings, trees,
Free.
Feeling the sensation in my whole body.
I wake, exhilarated.
I’ve had this dream only a handful of times in my life,
Always vivid,
Always when I’m on the brink of an adventure.
I think it’s time
To have it again.
I have been wondering where my next painting will come from,
When I’ll feel like picking up my brushes again.
I don’t force it,
Inspiration can come in waves, or drops,
It trickled through this weekend,
First, a glimpse of a dusty canvas,
A feeling that I’d like to play with paint on it,
But not knowing what the subject would be.
Then, brightening up breakfast, goldfinches on the bird feeder.
Later, out birding, I glimpsed a tawny owl, roosting in a tree.
I watched a kingfisher, blue and orange among ochre reeds,
It caught three silvery fish while I watched.
And then, through my binoculars, a close up of branches and yellow lichen,
Mossy greens, rich browns and an idea takes shape,
The perfect background on which to paint
Goldfinches.
Driving to work
Past fields and hedges and trees without leaves,
The distant fells of the Lake District,
A milky opalescent dawn sky,
And I feel so happy
And I think, if I could send a message
To my younger self
I would say
‘Relax
I know things don’t feel easy.
But it will all work out in the end.
Take it one step at a time, don’t worry so much.
Life still has its ups and downs,
But the view from here is worth it.’
Weather and circumstance have conspired recently to keep my walks short
but today I was out for hours.
And now I am weary, that lovely tiredness of the body;
heavy limbs and aching muscles
thankful for a day outside
in the sun and frost.
Mind relaxed, soul nourished
by the long views of the fells and the sea,
clear blue skies and the orange glow of bracken.
Lungs full of fresh air,
I’ll sleep well tonight.
Doing tai chi while imagining the air is like water, as if you are doing tai chi under water, is a way of deepening relaxation.
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Imagining, as I move, that the air feels like water.
My arms float,
My body is supported.
If I concentrate, I can feel the air like water against my back.
My legs; heavy.
Movement becomes more deliberate,
The sense of the air like water surrounding me
Filling in behind me as I move forward.
I become aware of all of the surfaces of my arm as it moves into posture,
The movement of my arm through space.
I try to expand my awareness to my whole body,
To feel the air like water touching every part of me,
Don’t quite get there,
Still sensing my body as individual parts; hand, arm, leg, back.
This is my practice today;
Air like water.
According to research, people are more likely to care for the environment if they have a connection to nature, rather than just knowing facts about wildlife and the environment. And lots of people don’t have this connection.
I have a deep connection to nature. I find it hard to imagine that it’s possible not to be emotionally involved with the natural world, not to care about it, not to need to spend time outdoors.
My day can be transformed by the sight of a robin outside my office window, by the dark silhouette of a tree against a winter sky, by the play of light on water, by the glimpse of a flower growing amongst concrete.
I’m connected to landscapes too, I greet my favourite mountains like old friends, and certain landscapes make me feel deeply at home even if I’ve never been there before.
I don’t always love being outdoors. I’m happy to get inside to escape wind, rain and cold. I’m not a fan of wasps, ticks or other bitey insects. I like to have a cosy indoors to retreat to.
I’ve always felt that being outside and spending time in nature is good for me, not just for the physical exercise, much more than that; good for my whole being.
There is now lots of research that shows that spending time outdoors, in green spaces, helps improve health and mental wellbeing. It certainly makes me feel good.
Not everyone feels a strong connection to nature, to the outdoors, as this blog I read today explains.
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Have you connected with nature today ?
This year, I want to spend more time in my body
And less time in my head.
Listening, relaxing, softening
Being here now,
In this present moment,
Breaking the habit of a lifetime.
–
Happy New Year.
☺
Its been a week of grey, dreich weather and I’ve not been outside enough. I’d been on a few short damp walks around the lanes and down to the estuary, but I was starting to get that feeling….too much time indoors, not enough exercise. A sort of ‘meh’ feeling. That way when I can’t really be bothered to do anything, even though I’ve got 2 weeks off work and could do all those things I don’t have much time to do…paint, read, cook, tidy up the house, tai chi….but no, instead I was definitely mooching around aimlessly, spending a lot of time doing not much.
So I took myself off to a nearby nature reserve, Leighton Moss, and spent a happy, damp two hours walking through the reedbeds and watching the birds. I saw lots of pintail; elegant chocolate, cream and black ducks, one of my favourites. And plenty of shoveller, teal, tufted duck and egrets. Heard a strange whistling sound from all directions and realised it was teal talking to each other.
And then small groups of starlings started appearing from all directions, flocking together, zooming around the reserve gathering members until there were maybe 30,000 birds. 30,000! After putting on an aerial display they disappeard down into the reedbeds for the night; safety in numbers while they sleep.
It was damp, drizzly and grey. The light levels were low. It would have been ever so easy to stay indoors. I’m so glad I didn’t.
Pause in this moment
Between the out-breath and the in-breath
On the shortest day
And feel the seasons turning
When you open the office door in the morning to be greeted by beige and grey,
Dry warm air and the smell of computers
And yesterday’s lunches
And your heart sinks, shrivels and goes into hiding.
–
When your desk and the space around you is the smallest size it could legally be,
When you have no choice of whether or not you can sit by the window
And anyway the window might not even open,
And the view, if you have one, is the side of another office, or a road, or a block of flats.
–
When your senses are assaulted by the sound of phonecalls and the tapping of keyboards
And you feel yourself shrinking, contracting, trying block it all out,
And you wonder why you can’t concentrate,
And your mind runs around on the same old wheels, dreaming of a way out.
–
When others around you are beavering away
Seemingly oblivious to the distractions and ugliness,
And you wonder what is wrong with you and why you don’t fit in
And how on earth you can cope with this for another 30 years.
–
When you sit in a room with 50 people, but barely have a conversation for fear of creating too much noise,
And you feel trapped in a cage,
And you think you must be too sensitive, not good enough, not trying hard enough,
Just remember, escape is possible.
–
You’ve got the open plan office blues.
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(Yes, I’ve been there, and yes, I did escape!)
Life in the Fresh Air 