I know much is being written on the positive impacts of wild swimming on mental and physical health, however, I am not here to convince you to wild swim, it is not for everyone and there are other ways to rejuvenate. I have learnt there is something intoxicating about the tingling of the body and rushing of the blood to keep vital organs warm. It’s midwinter and it’s cold, wet, and windy, I strip down to my cycling shorts and enter rapidly flowing, cold water. My second story is different, far away from trains and children. For me it brought me rushing into the moment, it was an invite to be with those in front of me, to allow them to infuse my life with joy and curiosity and be transformed away from any sense of role, position, or the anticipation of what might happen at the end of my journey.
I accepted I would likely be forgotten in the time it took them to leave the train, but I hope I helped their journey be a slightly more enjoyable (and for the mum a slightly less stressful) one. The journey sped past as we played ‘guess who’, a childhood favourite of my own children and lots and lots of ‘I-spy with my little eye’. Well, let’s just say I had great fun with the inevitable laughter that comes from spending time with the innocence, plain speaking and plain seeing of young children. I have some choices, I could ignore them and get my laptop out and do my anticipated work (in this case write a blog), I could even see if there is an empty seat nearby so I can concentrate or I can be present with these wonderful human beings. The youngest has stomach-ache and demands her mum’s attention, the elder two girls want to talk (the cuddly dog is called Rose) and play games they are not aware of or interested in my plans. I love to travel by train and on a long journey, I often plan to complete specific pieces of work, read an unfinished book, listen to a favourite podcaster and then… I find my seat is on a table of four with a mum and her 3-, 5- and 7-year-old daughters. My first story emerges on the 9.01am Eurostar to Brussels. I would like to suggest these present moments are a possible source of wisdom for us as we live our lives. There are three short stories that I would like to tell stories that speak to me of the aliveness and radical sensing found within the present moment. Games of ‘ Guess who’, ‘I spy with my little eye’, cold rivers and a source of wisdom: Three moments of mindfulness that brought me into the present Posted at 11:46h in Personal Transformation by robhusband
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