Falling Into Stillness

25-6-23

When I need to go out I pick my timing carefully to avoid crowds and transport fee hikes.

On the streets there are cyclists and people on mobility aid to be mindful of.

In the malls especially during school holidays, there is the exhuberance of unsupervised children at play that can trip me.

Increasingingly I find myself making detours, sometimes huge ones, to avoid shoppers clustering on narrow thoroughfares.

So an errand that may take 30minutes can easily turn into a 2 hour undertaking.

The obstacles I face on my outings force me to look ahead when I walk, and to stand still in the presence of running children or sudden movements by others.

I now understand why in my youth I felt strongly about regulating whale & dolphin watching tourism. Whales have been known to alter their migratory routes or delay their feeding in order to avoid boats.

As I age every departure from the familiarity of my flat & neighbourhood is thus a bit of an expedition. I don’t have the bandwidth to conquer mountains or check out the ocean because the landscape in me is a perpetual mystery of unpredictability.

The outcome of negotiating external changes in my environment together with my physical limitations has strangely put me in a constant state of the beginner’s mind.

Every outing I can make it on my own whether alone or with friends is always my first, and could also be my last. It is perhaps one of the reasons why I’m always taking pictures. 😊