Taking time out for some musical trekking

 

It never fails to excite, intrigue and delight me how easy it is to be totally transported from one’s environment simply by slipping some headphones on and putting on some tunes.

It’s probably not as amazing as astral travel or having an out of body experience, but I think it’s pretty impressive.

It’s something I’ve taken to doing on lunchtime and home-time walks – transporting myself to New York in the 1950s with Miles Davis has become a favourite destination, and somehow seems to complement the vistas around me.  

Books, also, have become a favourite form of escape … or, depending on the book, of no escape, as some books tend to encourage introspection and soul-searching. Let me re-phrase that. I am drawn to books that encourage introspection and soul-searching being the introvert and dissector of human experience/motivation/passion that I am.

Speaking of which, I just turned 50. Away from my desk (and at my desk) I am now officially middle-aged. To say this has brought on a mid-life crisis is perhaps overstating it, but it does tend to give cause to pause, breathe and survey the life you have around and in front of you – kind of like a meerkat.

My meerkat surveillance has brought about mixed emotions. Initially it was dissatisfaction with things in general. Where I lived, what I was doing with my life, my mothering skills, the car I drive, the shape I’m in, etc, etc. The common theme of these musings was abject misery mixed in with generous amounts of entitlement and self-pity. Harsh, yes, but I can afford to be because I have recently moved on …

The second stage is where I am at now. This morning I had an epiphany of sorts when I realised that hey, maybe things are not so bad after all. Maybe things are ok. Maybe things are more than ok. Oh, and maybe I need to count my blessings and live in gratitude of them. And that the things I want to change, I actually can. Big big leap from last week – and one that I needed to make.

So then I had to follow on from that thought with a list. My grateful list is something like:

My health;

My ability to earn an income doing something I kinda dig with people l like in a safe environment with water views;

My friends who love and support me;

My knowledge and attitude to life;

My beautiful children – even Grumpy;

My sense of optimism;

Where I live – I love Brunswick; and

Of course, there’s the ability to express myself regularly in this column!

Until next time.
x Maria

Join Our Facebook Group