Friday 26 May 2023
Yesterday was one of those days where I felt like I slowed down, in a good way. I went with Annie and Tony to Ettrick Kirk. It’s a small area, but we ended up mainly standing, looking out across the fields and around the graveyard. I think most of the hour and a half or so we were there was spent standing alongside a drystone wall watching sheep and lambs, partly through binoculars. I’m not sure how it ended up that we stayed there so long but it felt really comfortable. Annie made a comment about not having a clue what the time was, though we didn’t then check our watches/phones to see what time it was; it didn’t matter. In winter, it was the daylight that mattered more, getting things done in daylight hours. For the next couple of months, daylight is delightfully long. Standing around, watching the sheep, looking though binoculars across the hills and reading headstones, it transpires, is a calming way to spend time. We saw two walkers, I think there was one cyclist and maybe a couple of cars. We stared at the walkers, People? What are they doing here?!
I’ve never tried meditation, but I have always liked the idea. The time spent with Annie and Tony out there yesterday felt like a kind of meditation. I wasn’t thinking about things I needed to do, everyday stresses or whatever; I was just enjoying the birdsong, the sheep and lambs going about their business and the beautiful scenery.
The reflective theme continued as we walked around Samye Ling, the Tibetan temple, en route to Lockerbie station later on. Unfortunately, the fact of Annie and Tony’s London train being cancelled and how best to get back to London was on our minds, but it was still an enjoyable and peaceful wander through the grounds. Annie and I sat inside the temple for a short time too. The orange and black-clad man from a few weeks ago was ‘still’ sitting in there. We all shared a bonding moment with some ducks. As you do.
Today, I’m finally taking my car in to have its winter tyres swapped for normal tyres. I have quite a lot of work-related writing to do and maybe this evening I’ll do a bit of weeding – Friday-night weeding; never thought that could be a thing, least of all something I’d kind of want to do.