As I walk and ponder

These views make it worth the walk

Can you imagine the stories you'd hear if trees could talk? Trees that have been alive for hundreds of years, their cellular memory dating back centuries. I think that's why tree-huggers and nature lovers really connect to something, the pent-up energy that's gathered in a solid mass of cells over time is quite humbling.
We carefully made our way over bushes of stinging nettles and purple spikey purple flowers on our walk through the forest this afternoon. When you passed clear patches of brush and softer plants it was relieving. Despite being advised to wear trainers my stubbornness got the better of me and I'd set out in my Ipanema flip flops that were about 2cm thick. Walking through fields full of chopped grass and weeds was painful to say the least. I could feel the spikes and nettles all over my feet but to 'just keep going' as Dory would say, was the only thing I could really do. My brother and I raced ahead, reaching a signpost that lead to three different paths. I was so certain it was the path ahead, and being in a slightly 'dazed' state aided my decision out of sheer laziness to not engage in thought - but soon I realized that recognizing something doesn't necessarily mean you're anywhere near your destination.

Starting off..

I 'recognized' cottages, nooks and crannies for about 20 minutes until I caught a glimpse of a rough Devonshire sea through the trees. Our cottage is situated at the end of an estuary, that leads off from the sea - so I pieced the puzzle together and turned around, to walk back down the hill feeling slightly disheartened. I found my brother wondering towards me with a 'why did I follow you again.' look on his face. 5 minutes later dad was magically driving towards us in the car that we've recently gained a love for. He laughed and shook his head. I bowed mine in defeat - there was no way I was arguing my way out of this one.

And rapidly regressing

The day didn't start off amazingly either. I plucked up the courage to brave the windy seas in our sailing boat with dad. Feeling slightly like a michelin man wrapped up in a swimming costume, a wetsuit, a life-jacked and boating shoes, I trudged my way into the middle of the estuary to 'hold the boat towards the wind'. The sail went up and this job suddenly got a whole lot harder - it flapped uncontrollably banging against the metal pole, not a very gentle experience for ones ears. Whenever the sail caught the wind the boat picked up speed and violently spun left or right, it was like trying to control a manic 4 year old child. That weighed a lot. I lay over the front of the boat holding both ends, trying to manage my fading sense of optimism and hoping that the experience would pick up. 20 minutes after dragging the boat back and forth, I was instructed to step in. As I placed my foot in the centre of the boat the wind caught the sail and it flipped over towards me sending me backwards into the muddy water. Dad's face dropped as his efforts drowned along with the sail. We spent the next 20 minutes trying to drag the heavy four year old back on to the shore, not easy when it's filled to the brim with seaweed and water. To be honest I was slightly relieved that we didn't end up going - the thought of capsizing in the middle of a freezing sea didn't seem too promising.

The magic of shrooms

During the remainder of my day I watched three new and exciting TedTalks - 6 ways mushrooms can save the world (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY) - an impressive lecture about the new found-energy generated by mushrooms, their pesticide-properties, their ability to clean sources of water from factory wastes, the list goes on. However listening to science in such intricate detail can either send the brain on a mission to understand it, or on a journey to take refuge in ones own thoughts. I experienced a mixture of the two - and needed a bit of psychology to put things into perspective 'The power of Introverts' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4) was the next lecture I indulged in. Leading me to categorize individuals in my life into one of the two: Introverts or extroverts. Introverts being characterized by their preference of being alone to think or engage in individual activities like reading or writing and tending to avoid louder social situations. A number of people came to mind. Whereas extroverts are more 'out there', they crave stimuli and activity, socializing with others and constantly 'doing'.. of course there's a spectrum and these two lie at either end so many people fall at different points. But it lead me to think of what I am? A bit of both? Maybe slightly more towards the extrovert side as I tend to feel cabin-fevered and a bit crazy when I'm left on my own or stuck indoors for too long. I'm sure many others would agree. The lecture reminded me of a principle in the sociocultural aspect of psychology that I've spend the past two years studying. People have an Individual and social self - the need to be alone being just as important as the need to be with others. However within the whole psychological spectrum of what I've studied, I find that there's a lot more importance placed on the idea of socializing and being surrounded by others, to learn off them 'the social learning theory', and to grow into our own selves with our own thoughts via the social, cultural, biological, cognitive etc. aspects that take place around us - requiring us to be extrovert and engage in such measures. 

Introversion

I soon found myself in a usual and familiar situation of stressing out. Wanting to do a million things (read, do yoga, eat breakfast, watch masterchef, watch TedTalks, go on a walk, go to the beach, cook, read other blogs - lalala doesn't the list end?) I came across Carl Honore giving a lecture on 'Slowing down in a world built for speed' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhXiHJ8vfuk) exactly the lecture I needed to be given - well most people in the developing world really. One of the most important things I took out of the speeches given at graduation was when our well respected conselor said "Once in a while, turn off everything that has a power button, and just listen." It's so true, so many of the distractions that exist today are comprised of technology. The first thing I do in the morning is check the time on my phone, followed shortly by turning on my laptop. When I'm away from technology I can't help but wonder whether I've missed a call, if i need to get intouch with someone, or watch something that I've missed out on. That's a whole different issue altogether 'FOMO' it's apparently termed, 'Fear Of Missing Out. The tattoo at the back of my neck, and one of the main principles of meditation and yoga, is presence. The idea of slowing down your pace in such a busy and demanding world, to just experience what's going in in that moment without necessarily needing google to do it for you. Again, awareness comes into the equation.

An odd concept

I'm just about to watch Michael Phelps on TV swimming his amazing 400m I.M at the Olympics. Though I'm not the most amazing swimmer I know, having had the experience of being in a competitive swim team and knowing the push towards that goal of touching the wall at the end of a never-ending race; it's nice to be able to connect to something and have a slightly higher degree of understanding for what you're watching... seeing Phelps walking around in his swimmers isn't too painful either - they're at the blocks and the buzzer's about to go, time for another exciting race!


To engage in a bit of brother-sister bonding time we tuned in to our musical side - here's a rough rendition 'You know I'm no good' by a legendary singer to say the least (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQaJuaJ1YIw)

(We made the most amazing fresh crab, mayo and lemon sandwiches the other day - using freshly baked bread of course.. here's a recipe for another family fave:)


Recipe of the day: Fresh crab linguine 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/crab_linguine_22025