Seeking green spaces

This week I've found myself drawn to green spaces, perhaps more than usual. I've been struggling with head and neck muscle tension and it's cousin, headaches, and it’s often not been easy to do the work I’ve had to do. I’m pretty sure that I’m clenching my jaw during my sleep, and possibly my hands too. I’m also pretty sure that it is related to stress. My life is really quite good, but it’s been a bit of a rough year so far, and my body, typically, is showing signs of that.

We’re still under a state of emergency here. On Friday it was extended another three weeks. Nothing new here, we’ve been doing this for most of this year (barring three weeks, during which we managed to go camping). So, because I work from home (or, as I saw someone write recently—I live at work) I’m mostly only going out for essentials: groceries, medical, and exercise. 

This week I also walked to my favourite cafe and bought a coffee to go and sat in a park on the way home to savour it. I just sat, and thought about life. Our middle son graduates from high school next week. It’s been a long and, at times, arduous journey. It was interesting to sit and watch mothers with little ones in the park, thinking back over the years that I’ve taken my own boys to the park, and how far we’ve come.

It was one of those in-between-weeks when I have less urgent things to do. On weeks like that I tend to keep a close eye on the weather forecast, looking out for a few hours I can slip a ride in to the park six kilometres south of us. I nabbed that time on Wednesday afternoon. Taking an eBook, I hung out in the park for a couple of hours, luxuriating in being outside when it was neither hot nor cold.

Thursday was wet and miserable, a lovely day to stay inside and work. But on Friday, another beautiful day, I did my usual grocery-ride after lunch and decided, on a whim, to buy an ice cream and eat it in a small riverside park on my way home.

Three times in four days I sat in parks. No particular agenda. I didn’t read my Bible or do meditation or reflection. I didn’t write, or create poetry. I just sat and enjoyed life.

On Friday (over lunch), I also read the last few chapters of Ecclesiastes. The main conclusion of that book is that you don’t know how many days you have before God will judge you, but that you should enjoy the ones that you do.

Some of the phrases seem especially to ring true to my ears:

“Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless” (11:7-8)

And “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come . . . When the doors to the street are closed, and the sound of grinding fades...when men are afraid of . . . dangers in the streets” (12:1, 4, 5).

Doesn’t the end of that last bit sound like this pandemic: closed doors, “grinding” a.k.a. usual work ceases, and dangers in the streets!

So, I was glad to be able to enjoy the “sweet light” and the sun this week. To remember my Creator by sitting quietly. To appreciate the life he’s given me, even though, like all lives, it’s got troubles.

Below are some of the scenes from my sojourns in parks this week.

This is the path between the river and my “Friday” park. We 
often walk this in the evening. These are gorgeous, shady
Cherry blossoms: yes, beautiful even when they aren’t pink.

This is one of the many pathways that cross-cross
Tokyo. I cross it to ride to “the big park”, but
took a few minutes to venture down it on Wednesday.

 

Me, in the “big park” soaking up the green.

A lady bug enjoying this flower.

A lily I found along the way to the park.

This is the park between my house and the train 
station. A convenient place to stop with a coffee.