Janathon 2013 Day 9 - Peace of Mind

Run - 6.5km, Time - 36 minutes

“What we are seeking, then, is how the mind may always pursue a steady, unruffled course, may be pleased with itself, and look with pleasure upon its surroundings, and experience no interruption of this joy, but abide in a peaceful condition without being either elated or depress: this will be ‘peace of mind’ (Seneca, On Peace of Mind)”

This is not my default state of mind but I can sometimes feel like that and it can be induced by a run. I know nothing that beats the feeling of earned rest, when the body feels slightly tingly and the mind is alert but empty. After your stretches, you can drink your tea and eat your banana (or whatever else you do) and sit, or lie, in a state of quiet contentment. Sometimes I like to put on some music (usually something ECM ish) and it often seems clearer and more coherent than normal because it is all there is. I am thinking of nothing else. 

It is possible to run your worries away - at least for a short time andI think this little interlude is as good a reason for running as any.

A Lyrical Pause

Yes, I remember Adlestrop --
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop -- only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

This poem by Edward Thomas, written just before the start of the First World War, is extremely well known and may even be one of the nation's favourites (not that I have any finger on the pulse of the nation's taste in poetry). Sometimes it has been used as an exercise in nostalgia: of steam trains, the peace of the countryside and the golden summer before war ripped the european world apart, but that is conflating the time of its composition with its meaning. I like it instead for its timelessness: not being about any era but instead describing those caught moments that I am sure have affected everyone throughout history - those moments when things pause and you are suddenly more aware of your surroundings.

These sort of moments that give me more pleasure than almost all others but they can not be anticipated or planned for. They happen unexpectedly through cracks and cannot be deliberately sought. For me though, running increases the chances of them coming. One of the habits of my pottering long runs along the canal is to stop at the furthest point,  sit on the arm of the lock gate, take a drink and look around. At such times a sense of peace can wash over me. Not always but sometimes. I know I am lucky in the beauty of my surroundings and it is more difficult to imagine such moments on streets of undistinguished housing. But it is not impossible. Anywhere at any time we can see things more clearly.

For one fleeting moment.

2011 Streak Day 218/365 (Aug 6th): The quality of peace

2011 Streak Day 218/365 (Aug 6^th): Run - 2 miles, Time - 23 min Weather - light rain, low grey clouds

As you can see from the photo it was another wet day, however running first thing has saved us. So far there has been no significant rain at daybreak. Is this a general rule? Does the early morning have less rain than other times off day? All I can say is that on this holiday that has been the case.

Later we went for a walk and got very wet.  During the walk we talked about the quality of peace tto be found here. At home we have no easy access to the same openness of landscape, the same sense of quiet. It might seem strange to say as we live in pleasant countryside with nearby woods and quiet country lanes - but it is in the South of England, a densely populated area.There may be many nice vistas but the traffic is never far away.

However, as with everything, for every up there is a down. There is a fine line between quiet and boredom and in winter an open landscape, which in summer is rich with crops and wild flowers, can be empty and bleak.

We talked with an English couple who live in the village full time and they find winters hard, with nothing much to do. This year, as an experiment they are renting a villa in Spain from January to March to be part of a bigger community. It will be interesting to see how that works.

Which only goes to show, I think, that peace is not actually in your surroundings but in your attitude to them.