My blog is late this month, recognition perhaps that sometimes our routines (as comfortable as they are) have to make way for other priorities. It’s been one hell of a month for one reason or another; We all have them from time to time, where a combination of circumstances asks us to leave the relative safety of the routine and jump onto a moving train. Now the train is in the station, I’ve alighted at my favourite stop for a much needed refuel and rest.
And so, it is I find myself writing this at 6am at Damage Barton, in North Devon. Not a lot happens on the campsite at this time of day: it’s nearing sunrise and the crows are out in force, acting like teenagers, hunting for scraps in last night’s BBQ’s. A wizened, tanned old man is shuffling about with a caravan toilet, a family dog has its ears up and is desperate to say hello, and the sandpipers are dancing above the hedgerows. It’s all perfectly idyllic, and the time and place where I’m at my most content.
People ask why we come here so often, and I generally just show them the pictures… we come as often as we can. Yes, it’s expensive, and it is most definitely a luxury, but while it is financially viable, we will continue to come. Out here we escape the constant narrative that tells us we are all ‘too busy’ and that our success as individuals is measure by how busy we are… how ‘in demand’, and therefore ‘indispensable’ we are as individuals. But I will wager that most of the things on our schedules are just distractions, and not priorities. We often say that we are ‘too busy’, but perhaps we’re not too busy or ‘stuck’, we’re just exhausted? Making yourself a priority from time to time is not selfish, it is absolutely necessary.
Alongside everything else that has been going on, I’ve been trying to get my London Marathon training in. I’m finding it a lot harder to get my mileage up than in previous years (notably pre-illness), and running is also one of the first things to be forgotten when other demands get pushed to the fore. I will still be on the start line at London, but don’t expect any heroics or PB’s… to finish and enjoy the event are my goals, and with my club mates by my side it’s sure to be a success.
My move to slowly get rid of stuff is also continuing… I’ve come to realise that, despite what the material world may tell us, things are there to be used, while people are there to be loved. This may seem obvious, but all too frequently I see people being used, and things being loved. This is, perhaps, why the world is in such a mess at the moment. I think it’s time we all addressed what is really important in life. After all, it’s not what we say is a priority, it’s what we actually do that counts.
Laters…
P.S. here are some pictures…
#R24TRC 