photo by Britta Hügel
Dear You,
thank you for telling me how you overcome Lockdown-blues by cherishing memories of past journeys!
My second resolution in Lockdown-time is to stay curious. It is so easy to become bored and, as the radius for walks diminishes, think: "Oh, I know it all... blah...."
No, one doesn't know it all. In Zen they recommend: Look at everything with beginner's eyes. Which of course I cannot. But when I take my camera with me, or try to draw something, I look more attentive.
And if it rains, I just take a beautiful umbrella, and the world looks friendly again.
And when I'm not sure IF it might rain - I take this tiny one, not heavier than a bar of chocolate, mere 100 gram.
So: The weather (almost) ever permits. Give yourself a little push - and go out and walk, even if it is everyday the same route - try to see what changes.
Hope to meet you outside!
Yours Truly
Britta
Getting outside is key to good spirits, I agree. My dog Bounce and I have a pact, that we take two walks a day. Rain or shine, and where I live in California, it is mainly shine.
ReplyDeleteDear Terra, a dog is a good reminder to go out! Some days when the weather is not very alluring, outside I see: people with dogs, and a mother or father with a pram. :-)
DeleteBounce is a lovely name for a dog. I never had one - most of the time of my life I lived in big cities and travelled a lot - but when I see the long beachside in the Netherlands, I can imagine having one.
I can also look out a window. I see some of the smaller animals running around and birds flying or picking up bits of whatever. If it rains the smells are different. I love the smell of earth as the rain wets it. The smell of the neighbors petunias wafts across the street. I can be happy inside or out.
ReplyDeleteTrue, dear Emma - same as with a balcony. And rain intensifies smells, and the air gets clean. Yet I love to move, and our fitness centres are closed again, so I walk. (And try to do exercises within, but am not so disciplined as in a studio).
DeleteI observe and take it all in. I always find something to look at in the things I am familiar with but like I have never seen them before. I try to go out each day regardless of weather. xxx
ReplyDeleteDear Rachel, I believe that you as an artist look very attentively at things. I try now to draw some architecture (not my favourite) and am astonished how much on a building I didn't notice before.
DeleteHappy walks! xxx
There is never a day that I do not go outside. Our trees are nearly bare and the leaves are on the ground where yesterday's wind piled them in dips and alcoves. The work of the wind. Today was a crisp very sunny Fall day.
ReplyDeleteDear Susan, this fall seems to be especially beautiful. Now the yellow and red colour of the leaves turn to brown, and they fall in big heaps on the pavement - one has to look out! I love the sound of rustling leaves, and their smell.
DeleteWalking is so good for you. Healthy. And the rain generally feels nice and leads to a warm bath when you get home.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne, that's why I walk, health first, then joy :-) - of course I am of a lazy nature and like to sit and read - but I know what my body needs. I try to choose the right clothes - and umbrella, as you see above - and woosh I go.
DeleteRain and cold become less important to me the older I get. I just sit down on a wet bench and look around as usual.
ReplyDeleteDear Tom, I just feel the opposite way: the older I get the easier I freeze!
DeleteI took all the blankets and cushions a Café might offer on a terrace (now they are all closed in Berlin), and have very mixed feelings about a little blue-silver aluminium base in my fashionable rucksack: I put it on a bench when I sit down in Tiergarten - which makes me feel at least 101-years old, but then I say "Fie!" to Vanity, because I remember how I feel when I catch a cold...
Your umbrella is wonderful Britta .... so colourful and cheerful unlike my black one 🤣
ReplyDeleteBecause we don’t see many people at the moment, I don’t care if I get wet .... just dry off when I get home ! I rather like walking in the rain. XXXX
Hahaha, Jackie - that reminds me of the time my son was in Portland, Oregon, as "pupil-journalist" - he asked the father of his guest-family: "You don't take an umbrella with you? What do you do if it rains?"
ReplyDelete"We just walk and get wet" was the wise stern answer :-)
And thank you for admiring the umbrellas - the marvellous red one I got from Shiseido (after talking for hours with them in the Alsterhaus in Hamburg, where it was decoration - had to convince them that I absolutely NEEDED it...they gave in, after a long, long while :-)
DeleteAnd the colourful one I bought at a famous orchid breeder in Hildesheim - at a time when orchids were still special and not cheap -- now the business is closed, so sad.
Second time I forgot the XXXX - maybe the rules of the lockdown have already been ingrained into my brain? XXXX
DeleteHaha ! We must never forget our XXXX’s .... they are even more important now .... virtual 💋‘s to you Britta. XXXX
DeleteDear Britta - love your black umbrella covered in beautiful orchids - there are always new things to see and observe even if you walk exactly the same walk each and everyday.
ReplyDeleteTake care, not sure what the virus situation is like in Berlin. In my corner of the world the virus is still low, but we have all been put into lockdown here until the beginning of December.
Dear Rosemary, thank you! The virus situation in Berlin is really awful - dark red area - and we have massive restrictions. I am very glad to live in a bourgeoise area where they do not celebrate parties at night with over 500 people, and here it is not seen as a sign of courage not to wear a mask.
ReplyDeleteI decided to go early in the morning for my walks (or buying those things I need for daily life) - then the streets are almost empty.
I want to walk and use my muscles, to stay fit. I wish you good health, and believe that you know how to fill the long days with interesting topics!