Wait until next year

I step out of the front door and hope I don’t bump into my neighbours. I’ve heard them banging around and so figure they are probably about to leave too. It is not that I don’t like them, or that they are particularly difficult, more that I’m not generally a bit anti-social and would rather have such exchanges of pleasantries when I don’t have a train to catch. I think I’m maybe just a bit miserable. I then think that perhaps it is a nice thing to have the odd friendly face when you leave the house in the morning, and that I’m lucky that there are some friendly people on my road. A good contrast to the wall of impersonality I will face with my commute.

I look to the east and see a beautiful sunrise. It is a wonderful morning. There is a change in the light this time of year. A certain drama. There is an autumnal crispness. It isn’t really that cold, but the air somehow looks chilly. I take a couple of photos on my phone. I’m certainly motivated to do this because I have this post in mind, but I think I might have stopped to capture my view anyway. I’m not sure photography can do the sky justice, particularly my photos on my phone. But it still worth doing, I think.

I head up to the station and realise I need to renew my ticket, but now don’t have enough time. I resolve to use my contactless debit card payment system. I don’t really like it, but it is the only way I’ll guarantee I’ll get on my train in time. I spend the rest of my walk seeing so many things to write about. Too many for a first post. I probably need to relax into this, rather than constantly looking for inspiration. I suspect this is a sensation most bloggers feel at one time or another.

This is the first in a series inspired by Mike’s suggestion:

“Pick a daily ritual where your mind typically doesn’t have to focus too hard on the task, something mundane like brushing your teeth or maybe something more involved like the walk from the front door to the train. Just pick whatever sounds interesting to you. Then write about what you think about when you’re engaged with the task. You’ll have to stick with it for a while, because it’ll be super cool to see how your thoughts engage and evolve as you become more mindful of your thoughts with that task. Almost like psychotherapy, but focused on the everyday.”

Like most things on here, I’m not sure how long the series will last.