A Kiss of Light
the first week and staving of the blues by getting the daylight when we can
Barely a kiss of light skims the moon's surface. The orbit of the sun and moon is amazing. So low at this time of year, a silhouette miles from the earths surface. The distance deceptive as though you could pinch them between finger and thumb. Closer to home the pavements are fraught, cars look like they will never move again, frozen for eternity. The tarmac changes to earth as we hit the the hill, barely noticeable in hardness, the grass is crisp, white and ready for that kiss. It's a beautiful morning.
Its -1C as we head out this morning. The plan was to run, I can't face it, the ice under foot would not be great and the main undercurrent of advice for runners at my age is to stay injury free. I don't fancy slipping. So it's a walk this morning, grabbing the thermals with the same preparation for a trip to the arctic circle!
This week, a funny start to the year, it feels like it's not quite got going yet. It's the time of year where spent Christmas trees appear on the streets for the magic tree collector to come and pick them up. Then there are those folk who refuse to give up, the lights are in full disco mode at 6 in the morning. As I run in the dark they are more welcome than the hurdles that clog the foot paths.
The schools return tomorrow and with it a whole bunch of folk who have been away. The heat will gradually get turned up at work. Those things that we said would get done in the new year are now upon us with a sense of urgency. It's like the slumbering beast is waking.
I relish the light when it comes at this time of year, it helps to awaken the soul. I spent an hour or so in the garden. Pruning the dwarf apple trees that I planted a few years ago. It sounds like I know what I'm doing! I don't 😬, I just know it helps and with the aid of YouTube I've made my best effort of it.
James Clear, author of the best selling book on Amazon last year (according to his bulletin!) cuts through with a short sharp sentence:
"New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results."
I'm trying to lean into a better, healthier and more aware lifestyle. The pruning of the apple trees was on last years to do list, it didn't happen! So I'm feeling that there are fresh shoots appearing, it’s going to be a good year.
My son, of his own making, came up with a new metaphor as we discussed gears on the car he's learning to drive in. The little Fiesta has five with reverse in the same position as sixth on the camper-van that I drive. As learner he's not allowed on the motorway, and so for the journey back to my hometown over Christmas, I took that slug of the journey and naturally as one hits speed and in the flow state you’re going to revert to muscle memory. I tried to move into sixth gear on the stick shift, like throwing a bunch of grit into a cog mechanism! Thankfully I'd not tried to ram it in and at the first sign of a grumble I stopped. He'd noticed though, not that we are operating in a point scoring system between learner and the main driver. It was a blemish on my pride! Anyway we got to talking about getting into 6th gear and how 2024 was going to be the year he was going make a bunch of stuff happen.
So I've been asking myself everyday this week what would make it a 6th gear day, and tried to keep referring back to the list. I've a whole bunch of stuff brewing in my head, a bunch of learning which needs supporting by better habits.....I'm keen to get into that sixth gear.
Soup this week was Turnip, and you can find the rough and ready recipe in my notes:
I started the edits on the Onion section of the book. Not quite got round to posting it. Merging the photographs together took longer than I thought as I battled with DPI and my skills in photoshop. However by writing it down here.....it's a promise to make it happen.
Thanks for reading, and it doesn’t feel right to not close off without a virtual happy new year handshake. 🤝🤝
It's been a long time since I've driven a manual transmission car. It certainly kept me alert while driving. I've never driven a 6-gear car, they've all been fives just like your son's.
Happy new year to you as well ...