Two Kilometres

The current COVID19 guidelines for exercise in Ireland have brought the radius of two kilometres from home into very sharp focus as we are not allowed to wander outside that boundary.

I feel utterly blessed that the sea is within my 2km range as it feeds my soul and offers horizons of hope.

Tramore Bay, Co. Waterford

Thinking about the 2 km in broader terms has made me think of all the history associated with everyone’s place in this country. I have found myself looking a lot more closely at the buildings, twists, turns, shadows, gardens and pondering on what history is associated with an area I know so well and how all the people currently in my little 2km radius are actually dealing with these strange times.

We all try to put a brave face on things but I guess there’s no one who is completely at ease. Everyone has their own ways of coping and more than anything this feels like a time when there’s no running away or getting away. When I was a child I used to think that if the worst came to the worst The Isle of Man would be my saving place. I don’t remember my rationale.

Now, it’s about coping, hoping, helping and being sensible. My new approach to coping with attacks of paralyzing stress is to draw on a menu of 5-minute treats, like trying to sketch a flower, listening to a song, reading a poem, petting the dogs, writing a haiku, making a smoothie and suddenly one becomes absorbed and the tension recedes.

Now a treat with puppy Stan and a walk within our 2 kilometres.

Take care, wherever you may be, dear friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rim of the World

I had a Prof once who was bright, funny, generous and wise. He had a very  good grasp of life in both theory and practice.

His advice for when times got rough was to: Get yourself out  onto the rim of the world and weather the storm from there. 

Being on the rim of the world lends perspective and opens up all sorts of new angles on things.

As I would climb out the window of  life, I invariably found myself on a chair-o-plane flying round and round with childish excitement.  Chair-o-planes were forbidden fruit in my youth as my father had a vision of the whizzing apparatus spinning so fast that we’d be catapulted to kingdom come.

Photo: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=6333&picture=chair-swing-ride

The thing is: can you be on the rim of the world without at least a hint of danger?  It’s all about balance, in every respect, and knowing the tipping point.

The garden swing had quite an element of the rim of the world about it. Wind flying through flowing hair, legs propelling the seat to go higher and higher, ropes creaking, carving out magical angles and giving  Over the Top a meaning that could and would never be forgotten.