David Kanigan
The way I’d like to go on living in this world
wouldn’t hurt anything, I’d just go on
walking uphill and downhill, looking around,
and so what if half the time I don’t know
what for —
~ Mary Oliver, excerpt from 1945-1985: Poem for the Anniversary” from Dream Work
Notes:
I have no bones…
there are days when I could leap up to the clouds —
days when I haven’t the strength to turn the pages of a book.
– Gustave Flaubert, from Intimate Notebook: 1840-1841
Notes:
I relish those spontaneous times when I decide to stroll with my wife and dog through the park near our home in Amsterdam. Or when I take time to read a novel for fun. Or when I stop for a lovely glass of wine along an outdoor cafe along the canal because it seems like the thing to do. How about just taking time to take time?
Ah, the infinite moments to enjoy, presented to us on the conveyor belt of our existence….
There are times when making no sense makes sense. Just being, hanging out, following the whim, the momentary inclination. How long can you indulge yourself, though, purely, without hesitation, doubt, or a troubled thought about what it should be troubled about…?
Stop! Do something else. Do nothing. Try it. Anything. It’s not about our doing.
~ David Allen, from Indulging in Easy
Note: Photo via Mennyfox55
Jorie Graham: “The slow overture of rain, each drop breaking without breaking into the next, describes the unrelenting, syncopated mind.” (from “Mind,” Hybrids of Plants and of Ghosts.)
6:30 am.
The train pulls into Grand Central, and clears. I sit. And wait.
The conductor walks up the aisle gathering tickets.
I cue up a Paul Simon playlist and walk.
The platform is empty. Stragglers amble toward the exits.
I nod to the armed guard, and slip through the open door onto 42nd, passing a conga line of yellow cabs. Not today gentlemen, not today. We’re walking Cross-Town.
Good morning America.
Dawn in Manhattan.
Sun Power lights up the skyscrapers, they lean in from the shadows to warm.
A wisp of a breeze cools, a welcome cut of the ever-present humidity, and a respite from the simmering trash and the marinating urine.
The electronic horse walks.
There’s a skip in the step this morning, loaded with a full night’s sleep, and boosted by Sun’s Solar Power. Beast and Beast. One up Top. One on the ground. Duo is Un-freak-ing-stoppable. [Read more…]
How could you
not love
the ground on which you walk?
~ Clarice Lispector, “The Buffalo” from The Complete Stories
Photo: Early morning walkers pass in Bal Harbour, Fla. (wsj.com by Wilfredo Lee)
I’d like to walk there again.
It was so lonely — a nice kind of loneliness,
and all grass and clover and soft sea air.
– C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Chronicles of Narnia
Source: Quote – Schonwiener. Photo: Newthom
Percy James goes for a walk in the park…
I’m Mr. Boombastic say me fantastic…boom…boom.
Few people know how to take a walk.
The qualifications are
endurance,
plain clothes,
old shoes,
an eye for nature,
good humor,
vast curiosity,
good speech,
good silence
and nothing too much.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Notes: Quote: thevalueofsoulmaking.com. Photo: Patty Maher (via My Modern Met)
2:30 am.
We’re back on the front seat of the insomnia bus.
Unfinished business from work is clanking around.
No. Don’t get up. Not yet. Keep your eyes shut.
It’s dark. It’s quiet. I listen through my eyelids.
The North winds whistle, and freezing air leaks through the window sills.
It’s cold. I pull the comforter up. Zeke, at my feet, stirs.
It keeps coming back.
It’s mid-December. A late Saturday afternoon. Overcast. Rain is threatening. I grab the leash, call for Zeke and we walk.
Baker Park is a small suburban park, a brisk ten minute walk. It’s adorned with a half-sized aluminum backstop, grassy fields and a small playground. A wooded area rings the back end with paths carved by the Boy Scouts in a summer project.
Zeke bounds ahead, his feet stirring the leaves that layer the earth.
I pass the first. It’s a glance.
I pass the second. It has my attention.
I pass the third. I slow my pace.
I pass the fourth. I’m troubled now.
I approach the fifth. I stop. Don’t you dare move to the 6th.
