I once worked in a busy research department where I was very fortunate to be partnered with a lovely colleague, Maureen. Whereas I’m not blessed with huge reserves of patience and can get a bit ratty at times of stress, Maureen rarely lost her Zen-like state of calm.
‘First there is a mountain...’ she would say, when I was tearing my hair out, earning herself a look of sheer exasperation. What the heck did an old hippie song about a mountain that came and went have to do with my problems? Eventually, I grasped that the words weren’t about getting lost whilst hiking, but about the path to enlightenment. Or Path to Enlightenment if you’re that way inclined. I’ve heard Maureen’s voice many times this year which has felt like a constant uphill struggle and it’s reminded me to try to deal with the challenges as they really are, not as insurmountable peaks.
Renovating the house is driving me nuts; I hate the disruption and mess. But as we move from room to room using them in unaccustomed ways, I’ve got to know the place better and feel I truly live here. Seeing the flash of Bardsey lighthouse last night, and the blue hills of the Llŷn Peninsula reaching into the sea whilst we ate dinner in a different room made up for the break in routine.
One of my personal mountains this year has been a niggling health problem which has stopped me running. If I let nature take its course, I’ll be fine, so when I’m straining to get out and just burn up my frustration, I have to remind myself that there could be serious consequences if I do. It’s a valuable lesson in patience!
Work too, hasn’t been all plain sailing. After a real Second Book Battle, (first, there is a mountain) I delivered my novel in May, but with a couple of slight misgivings that I tried to ignore. Well, I’ve just received the report and now I see (then there is no mountain) that I’ve let a couple of subplots run wild, almost pushing the main characters off stage! Now it’s down to the business of putting things right (seeing the mountain with fresh eyes!).
And just as I was hoping that Ma was on the mend, she was in the wars again this week when a dustcart mounted the pavement, clipped her injured arm sending it flying upwards and caused her to punch herself in the face. My sister’s on the case with this one and we’re just relieved that Ma’s escaped with shock and bruising when it could have been so much worse. On a happier family note, we also caught up with Stepson One and his new bride and Lily and her fiancé, Russ. A wedding and wedding to come. Mountains, no mountains; life goes on.
Painting is 'High Preseli Mist' by Tom Tomos
Comments
Hoping that things start to run on a more even keel soon.
CKx
I hope your health problems subside and your Ma (yet again) is on the road to recovery.
I can sympathise with the renovating (been there, done that, have the hair loss to prove it) and the second novel syndrome.
I hope your year improves soon!
Jane, there's a lot of it about, I know, so appreciate the sympathy! Yep, some of those slopes have seemed pretty damn craggy!
Kate, thank you! Actually, have started #3 and enjoying it, but it has a different working title!
Lins, it's very kind of you to comment at a time when you have so much to think about. It's much appreciated. And my best to you and yours at this time.
Shirley, hello and thank you for your comment. I was very lucky to meet Maureen and be the beneficiary of all that wisdomosity!
My mantra was 'yes, you can eat the elephant - but don't try to gobble it all at once.'
Your house renovations will eventually be done, and the house will truly be all that you and Tom wish it to be.
Please give your mom a gentle hug from me.
It's good that you have gotten the report on novel two, and can corral those characters who want so much time on stage, or find them a way to share the stage.
And finally, please tell Tom I do like the way he handles mist.
(Sunshine is back here full force.)
xo
I am sending you some real life Buddhist zen from Thailand and big hugs.
Frances, I'm pleased to hear that you are in the sunshine again, but I'm guessing it's still fairly humid. Sorry to have given you an earworm and thank you for all your kind words.
Jenny - good to see you again. Chocolate cake, real life Buddhist zen and big hugs all VERY welcome! Thank you!
It sounds like you've got things under control around you, but of course that doesn't mean they're under control in your head. Time for a walk on the shore and a big glass of wine and a thought for this time in six months when none of it will be in the forefront anymore.
And there you have it. From mountains I have reached my grandfather and we have by-passed your real dangers and opportunities and mess and bother and expense and tedium and not being able to get out your running legs (but think - no dogs to bite you! - every cloud etc). Which I suppose brings us back to mountains for where else would you find a cloud but on a mountain top. Nevertheless, think, as I am sure you do, silver linings, and you will emerge again into the sunlight.
Good luck with the second book, house 'mountain' and get all better soon.
Fennie, I always enjoy following your meandering train of thought, especially when you bring it back so neatly to where we began. I shall keep a look out for the silver linings.
Mags, it's a wonder she wasn't crushed - she was next to a tall wall at the time. I can't believe it either! Thanks for your good wishes... I feel in need of them!
My godmother is the one I go to to bring my mountains back down to molehills where they usually belong.
Hope you can get back to running soon and that the house soon gets sorted. Good luck with the book too. I'm beginning to think I'll be in my dotage by the time I get published, if at all. (I can feel my own mountain nearby!)
Caterpillar sheds its skin, to reveal the butterfly within.
Oh Juanita, I call your name...
It's been lots of fun having this surface every now and then in those confines of my mind.
xo
Oh, Frances!! I thought I'd finally managed to push that song out of my head! Now I'm stuck with the 'Oh Juanita, I call your name....' Although I have no idea what's that has to do with zen Bhuddhism.
Posie
gaelikaa, I know, but some of it's a bit of a b*gger at the moment! Still, first there is a mountain...!
Posie, it was encouraging to see how far ahead you'd got. Don't know whether we can see light at the end of the tunnel or the train coming towards us! Thanks for your kind words about the book, I feel I know where I'm going now... so just hope nothing else happens to try to derail me!!
So glad the accident with your mum wasn't any worse.
Thanks Cara, at least I haven't got an al fresco loo! It's nice to hear from folks who've been through the experience that you forget the pain when it's over!