Take this lead foot off my heart
Let me breathe again
Take the “to do” list from my pocket
Let it blow away on the wind
Land far away
On a blade of grass
And that bendy leaf
will laugh and laugh
At all my silly human worries.
Nature doesn’t have “to do” lists. She does what she does at her own pace and time.
To fall into her gait, we have to create space for her to enter into our lives, fall into step beside us.
Rushing woman’s syndrome. I first heard of this a few years ago and thought “that’s me, I have that.”
I find it very difficult to be at peace and walk not run. Even around my house. Forgotten something in the bedroom? I run, skidding in socks at the turn in the hallway, back to fetch it.
Like a child. But then the child within me has always rushed so why would she stop now?
Because I’m tired of her adrenaline charged heart beats thudding in my chest.
Which is why photography and getting back on my bike have been so good for me the last week.
As I’ve said in an earlier post – photography enables me to calm down and come into the present moment.
Motorbike riding is perhaps seen as an adrenaline boost, and I guess it is, but it is also another activity that you can’t help but be utterly present and mindful whilst doing.
Because the consequences of not being mindful are dire. You could hit some wildlife, a pothole, skid in the gravel left on the shoulder of the road.
Day six (today) of my photography challenge (which continues on Instagram) and I left for a little town about an hour down the road. It was colder on the bike than I had expected, and because I cannot wear gloves, my hands were cold. At least the backs of them were – my grips are heated.
I headed straight for a long black at the bakery and then sat in the park to thaw out. Yes, that rushing woman was in my head urging me to go home, go home, things to do.
But I resisted her and pottered about the town a little. Instead of doing my laundry at home, I took a photo of the cute little laundromat, the sweet op shop and its handwritten signs, the bridge.
I felt quite defiant actually. A bit of a hip swing to my walk. Damn that rushing woman she could just wait.
A second or two longer.
And then I headed home. I don’t think the rushing woman is ever defeated, she will always be nagging and lurking, but I can argue with her, keep her at bay. Silence her strident voice for a moment. As long as I’m right here, concentrating on life as it passes and counting my blessings as they arrive.
