Running. And, slow sailing to a quiet dance.

~ Live & Learn

drum-drumline
It’s a coincidence. (Again?)
It’s synchronicity. (Do you believe that?)
You made it up, you’re delusional. (Not yet, don’t think so, not just yet.)
It’s a sign, a message. It’s G – – . (Oh, boy.)

5:45 am. I round the corner to Cove Island – low tide.  The sulfur released from the exposed mud fills the lungs – gas, pungent smelling salts.

I inhale.

Geese float silently in the shadows.

I run.

I’m around the loop and back, 1/4 mile from the entrance.  GPS flashes 4.1 miles in. I don’t glance at the time, that’s been a year now, I’ve conceded. “Matured.”  Over 25 years of daily tracking of body weight and notating work-outs, first in a log book, then Excel spreadsheets and now Google Sheets.  And also, now, on a parallel path on a digital step tracker which automatically feeds volumes of data into machines and is charted and graphed and spliced into pieces – all of which I never look at.  The logging, the tracking, the effort, I mean Really! WHO CARES?

Yet, the tension pulls at both ends, a medieval body rack tearing the limbs from the torso. Wired to Do, whipped by a Mind that makes you Do and strapped to a Body that can no longer Do. And, the Head swims in rip currents.

Then, it comes.

A slow drumming. The downbeat of a wing stroke followed by Herr-onk!, the downbeat of another wing stroke and a Herr-onk! followed by another, and another, and then 12 others.  Water splashing under wings, under breasts, and lift off.

16 Giant Canada Geese, V-shaped in formation, thunder overhead.

Herr-onk! Herr-onk! Herr-onk!  Herr-onk! Herr-onk!

I stop.

I watch them make a wide arc, bring it all the way back overhead and then head south, and finally out of sight.

There’s a message in all THAT. Has to be. MUST BE.

Time Check: No.
Mile Check:  No

Steps: 10,003.

Nap Time.

Posted Inspired by Marion Milner:

At this time also I began to surmise that there might be different ways of looking as well as of listening. One day I was idly watching some gulls as they soared high overhead. I was not interested, for I recognized them as ‘just gulls’, and vaguely watched first one and then another. Then all at once something seemed to have opened. My idle boredom with the familiar became a deep-breathing peace and delight, and my whole attention was gripped by the pattern and rhythm of their flight, their slow sailing which had become a quiet dance.

~ Marion Milner, A Life of One’s Own (Originally published in 1934)

Notes:

 

 

33 thoughts on “Running. And, slow sailing to a quiet dance.”

      1. I see…
        The third can either be a step down, as in a brick on the head!
        Or, rarely, a spiritual promotion, as in…

        “There will be no comets now,
        no pointing star to lead you where you know you must go.

        Look for smaller signs instead, the fine
        disturbances of ordered things when suddenly
        the rhythms of your expectation break
        and in a moment’s pause another world
        reveals itself behind the ordinary.

        And one small detail out of place will be
        enough to let you know: a missing ring,
        a breath, a footfall or a sudden breeze,
        a crack of light beneath a darkened door.”

        ~ Dana Gioia

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  8. “16 Giant Canada Geese, V-shaped in formation, thunder overhead” …it’s a spiritual experience without a doubt to witness such beauty. When I see and hear the geese here flying in formation…it’s like touching a bit of heaven. Suddenly everything makes sense and what is meant to matter comes home. Great writing, David. 🙂

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      1. You do that a lot it seems…pay attention. And in the end, what is really going to matter? It’s the moments like those which stop us in our tracks and make us realize all that is beautiful in this world. Take it all in, David, as you always seem to. 🙂

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  9. “To see Geese in flight is a precognitive omen or indication that something important is about to happen. Something new is coming in and you should be prepared for it.” Mmmm very interesting. Your runs are never boring Mr K. 🙂

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  10. Maybe maturing isn’t such a bad thing after all–if it helps us forget the minutiae (“The logging, the tracking, the effort, I mean Really! WHO CARES?”) to instead “Look for smaller signs instead, the fine
    disturbances of ordered things when suddenly
    the rhythms of your expectation break”. Live for the break in expectation! And keep running, writing and sharing.

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