Life in the (usually) sunny south of Spain has been wonderful these last couple of months, and has certainly made me appreciate internet access when I can get it!
Here's a link to a separate photo blog I've just started for the organisation I'm working with...check back for more updates later. I've got a whole stash of photos to work through here!
http://sunseedphotos.blogspot.com
Enjoy!
Widening Rings
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Friday, 26 August 2011
Over and Over
I'm getting very lazy now about writing anything in this blog, and keep posting links instead - but there's so much out there to read! So, here's another that caught my interest:
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECITshrutiseminarframeset.htm
Tried a new yoga class last night - kind of anusara-inspired vinyasa class. So relaxing! I was genuinely surprised, as the description sounded quite intense. Unfortunately my calm dissolved as soon as I left the class (late) and had to run for the bus, which I then missed. That's the first bit of running I've done since about October on account of the dodgy hip, and no, it did not appreciate it. Might have to try and end in the class in a slightly more peaceful way next week.
Also went to see Blood Brothers. Tragically depressing, which I maybe should have expected, but failed to find out what it was about beforehand. I was also very distracted by the fact that one of the cast looked so much like Jamie Cullum that I kept forgetting to pay attention to what was happening. So, hmm, no big opinions...
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECITshrutiseminarframeset.htm
Tried a new yoga class last night - kind of anusara-inspired vinyasa class. So relaxing! I was genuinely surprised, as the description sounded quite intense. Unfortunately my calm dissolved as soon as I left the class (late) and had to run for the bus, which I then missed. That's the first bit of running I've done since about October on account of the dodgy hip, and no, it did not appreciate it. Might have to try and end in the class in a slightly more peaceful way next week.
Also went to see Blood Brothers. Tragically depressing, which I maybe should have expected, but failed to find out what it was about beforehand. I was also very distracted by the fact that one of the cast looked so much like Jamie Cullum that I kept forgetting to pay attention to what was happening. So, hmm, no big opinions...
Saturday, 20 August 2011
The Asylum
Kneehigh are amazing!! Haven't seen them for a few years as I've been elsewhere in the summertime, but went to see The Wild Bride at The Asylum on thursday night and was totally blown away. Fantastic performance, and with such great live music all the way through - I wish I could play multiple instruments with such ease!
If you get a chance, check them out - they deserve a little of everyone's time:
http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/
If you get a chance, check them out - they deserve a little of everyone's time:
http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/
Friday, 5 August 2011
Digging for Treasure
Flights to Spain booked!! I'll be off mid-September to the sunny south for a few months of nature and blissful quiet. Excited? Oh yes. Hip is grumbling less, so I guess all the physiotherapy efforts are paying off; bring on some scrambling over rocky Spanish hills and some hikes through the valleys.
Just been unearthing my first potatoes of the year - what is it about rummaging around up to your elbows in dirt, hunting for spuds, that instantly produces a sense of childish wonder?! Could not have been happier had someone just turned my house into a chocolate shop. Fabulous. Guess what's on the menu tonight...
Read this poem this morning on the Rilke blog (http://yearwithrilke.blogspot.com/2011/08/may-what-i-do-flow-from-me.html). Love it:
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing it and no holding back,
the way it is with children.
Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,
streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.
- Rainer Maria Rilke
Monday, 1 August 2011
Yoga Days
Love it! http://www.bandhayoga.com/keys_psoas.html This sequence is really great for those, like me, with hopeless balance and shaky legs. Seriously hard work too, but by the time you get to bridge at the end it really does feel worth the struggle and wobbles.
Spent the last week with family, bombing around Cornish beaches, rivers and lakes, often in the rain. Shattered now, but worth the effort. Uni's off the cards now - relief at the decision made, though the outcome of that's another story - so I've got some Spanish plans to make and in the meantime I've dug the Michel Thomas CDs out - that man is a genius!
Reading The Deeper Dimension of Yoga by Georg Feuerstein at the moment. Great book of short essays on all manner of yoga-related stuff. Like this: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECIThappinessframeset.html Fabulous.
Spent the last week with family, bombing around Cornish beaches, rivers and lakes, often in the rain. Shattered now, but worth the effort. Uni's off the cards now - relief at the decision made, though the outcome of that's another story - so I've got some Spanish plans to make and in the meantime I've dug the Michel Thomas CDs out - that man is a genius!
Reading The Deeper Dimension of Yoga by Georg Feuerstein at the moment. Great book of short essays on all manner of yoga-related stuff. Like this: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECIThappinessframeset.html Fabulous.
Smugglers, Tolverne |
St Mawes Castle |
Port Issac |
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Decisions yet to be made
Hmm, so, what's new? Quite a lot surprisingly.
I've been debating with myself a long time over whether or not to take up my university place in September at Manchester for a variety of reasons - changing priorities, hip (and hand) problems, career direction... I'd just decided, finally, once and for all, to pull out of the course which is highly academic and theoretical in favour of spending some time with an environmental organisation in Spain which is orientated towards sustainable living and alternative technology. Fabulous. Decision made.
Then, I got a wonderful email from the university on monday saying I've won a scholarship - all tutition fees paid. It's great to have got the scholarship, which is something students are automatically entered for but I never even considered I would have a chance of getting, but now I'm in a dilemma. Have to let the uni know by tomorrow if I'm accepting the scholarship. All friends consulted say take the scholarship, but I still find myself with doubts, not least because most of their reasons cite 'free cash', 'better CV' and 'better job opportunities'. If they were reasons lined up towards happiness or wellbeing, I'd be inclined to agree, but purely financial and career opportunities don't seem to be holding much sway. But then, how often do you get offered a scholarship in a lifetime? Would I be completely crazy to turn it down?!
Scholarship quandry aside, it has also been a week of doctors and physio appointments. Quite frustrating ones at that. Another doctor joined the diagnosis debate on monday by completely disagreeing with the the previous doctor about the hip impingement, but can't say what else could be causing the problem. Seems like the general consensus is that progress with my hip will be slow - 6 to 12 months!!! - and there's not much more they can do to help it along its way. Keep doing the physio; don't aggravate it. Logical advice, yes, but perhaps not the most helpful in practical terms.
I guess the problems I've had with my hip are another reason for my reluctance to go to uni. I know what I'm like when I'm studying. I throw myself into an academic world and lose perspective on a lot of other things, like listening to what my body is saying to me. Also, what if it flares up badly again for weeks rather than just a couple of days as I've become used to dealing with? If my hand gets worse, typing and writing both take a skydive out the window. Maybe if I step back from things into a quieter environment for a year or so, I am actually more likely to spend more time keeping up the physio, as well as my daily yoga and meditation practice which I've really come to value over recent months.Maybe, maybe. If, if, if.
I just don't know! Strange how scribbling my thoughts down in a blog can make a difference to how clear my mind feels though. 24 hours to make a decision...watch this space
I've been debating with myself a long time over whether or not to take up my university place in September at Manchester for a variety of reasons - changing priorities, hip (and hand) problems, career direction... I'd just decided, finally, once and for all, to pull out of the course which is highly academic and theoretical in favour of spending some time with an environmental organisation in Spain which is orientated towards sustainable living and alternative technology. Fabulous. Decision made.
Then, I got a wonderful email from the university on monday saying I've won a scholarship - all tutition fees paid. It's great to have got the scholarship, which is something students are automatically entered for but I never even considered I would have a chance of getting, but now I'm in a dilemma. Have to let the uni know by tomorrow if I'm accepting the scholarship. All friends consulted say take the scholarship, but I still find myself with doubts, not least because most of their reasons cite 'free cash', 'better CV' and 'better job opportunities'. If they were reasons lined up towards happiness or wellbeing, I'd be inclined to agree, but purely financial and career opportunities don't seem to be holding much sway. But then, how often do you get offered a scholarship in a lifetime? Would I be completely crazy to turn it down?!
Scholarship quandry aside, it has also been a week of doctors and physio appointments. Quite frustrating ones at that. Another doctor joined the diagnosis debate on monday by completely disagreeing with the the previous doctor about the hip impingement, but can't say what else could be causing the problem. Seems like the general consensus is that progress with my hip will be slow - 6 to 12 months!!! - and there's not much more they can do to help it along its way. Keep doing the physio; don't aggravate it. Logical advice, yes, but perhaps not the most helpful in practical terms.
I guess the problems I've had with my hip are another reason for my reluctance to go to uni. I know what I'm like when I'm studying. I throw myself into an academic world and lose perspective on a lot of other things, like listening to what my body is saying to me. Also, what if it flares up badly again for weeks rather than just a couple of days as I've become used to dealing with? If my hand gets worse, typing and writing both take a skydive out the window. Maybe if I step back from things into a quieter environment for a year or so, I am actually more likely to spend more time keeping up the physio, as well as my daily yoga and meditation practice which I've really come to value over recent months.Maybe, maybe. If, if, if.
I just don't know! Strange how scribbling my thoughts down in a blog can make a difference to how clear my mind feels though. 24 hours to make a decision...watch this space
Monday, 18 July 2011
Healing Ecology
Makes a change from reading about how doomed the environment is...
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