Bluebells to Holland

I've been rather remiss as I haven't blogged now for a week.

Is blog a verb as well as a noun?

This morning, Nicky and I diverted from our usual circuit to go into the woods just down the road from our house and search out the bluebells. We found them, although we had to climb (sort of run) a horrifically steep hill to get to them. I find it amazing how a mass of bluebells can have such an ethereal, magical quality to them.

If you haven't gone out and taken a run, or walk, in some woods that contain bluebells, I urge you to do so in the next few days, while they are at their most magnificent.

Tomorrow I won't be able to do my morning run as I am due to catch a 7.25 am flight to Dusseldorf and am spending the day in Holland. I'm told that there is a forest very near to where I'll be, so I'm hoping to do my mile in the forest.

Magic, awe & distraction

Ran on my own this morning. Put in a fairly pacey (for me) 3 miles, which was fun. I checked a couple of times whether I was pushing myself but I wasn't. It was like I was running automatically on duracell batteries. I almost couldn't help it. Interesting.

Two thoughts came up for me on this morning's run. The first was how children so easily see magic and have a sense of awe and wonder about them. Do we just grow out of it and see reality as adults, or do we lose the ability to look with a sense of awe and to see magic, although it is still there?

I strongly suspect the latter, because every now and then I get glimpses of magic and also feel that sense of awe. It's amazingly powerful and hugely uplifting. We could all thrive rather than survive a lot easier by suspending our cynical minds and getting back in touch with magic and awe.

The other thought I had was how we usually see the quality of being distracted as a negative trait. But what if we were intent on a goal, a challenge and we were confronted by someone who could benefit from our help or assistance? Is the most positive thing to do, ignore it and keep focused on our goal or is it to allow ourselves to be distracted and lend a hand?

Human relationships are often just as important, if not more so, than the goal. So maybe the ability to be distracted is not such a bad thing?

Amazing what I think of when I'm running!