It is fair to say that I have had a weird day and a day that has tested me. The morning went off fine with a lesson on how different birds fly and their anatomical make up. We also had a lovely visit to the two dogs that we are helping to look after and said Good Morning to the alpacas but then it all changed.
As I settled down to work on the site for an hour my lap top informed me that one of the Microsoft updates was corrupt. Serious levels of joy! Over an hour of messing about in admin mode before the problem was fixed and then I was late leaving to meet my walking pal. Just I left I got a message to say that one of my Tibetan monk teachers is gravely ill and not expected to live through the night. He has been ill for some time but you are never prepared and when it is a teacher it seems to make you feel very small. I am the Buddhist practitioner I am mainly because of him and I know he is ready to move on but I am not ready to let him go.
If you have a walking pal the walk must go on so I jumped in the car and headed for Sannox which is a good half an hour drive from here. Just as I was leaving Brodick I came across a horrible accident as a lorry had come off the road and rolled into the ditch. As I was gingerly making my way through the chaos that had broken out a car was coming towards me going far too fast. It hit the wet leaves, applied the brakes and then was completely out of control. He too landed in the ditch. I drove on as there were quite enough people helping and if I had stopped my car would have become another hazard.
I finally reached my destination but was slightly early so had some time to compose myself. I thought about my wise old Buddhist monk and how he has dedicated his whole life to his teachings and left Tibet when he was forced out by the Chinese government. It is not possible to measure what he has taught me and everyone else he has come in contact with. In Buddhism we believe in calmness around a person's death to help them move into their next life so I am being calm and it is helping.
Linda and I had a lovely walk and took lots of photos in the amazing light of the day. We both felt the first nudge of the autumn storms as the sea swell was high and the waves quite dramatic. We came across a cave and I could see an opening at the other end just big enough to get my camera through. I am starting to feel that I would do anything for a good shot so I staggered through the mud and stink that was the inside of the cave as Linda encouraged me from outside!
It was not until I got this shot on my laptop that I felt its significance. Technically it is poor but then my camera is not fantastic but I am not bothered about that. The shot appears to have captured light and I am drawn to that today. It feels deeply significant.
As we were leaving we spotted a heron just sitting looking at us. I went round to the road to see if I could get close enough for a shot. I got the closet I have ever been to such a magnificent bird and it looked right at me before letting me take the shot. I saw something in that moment. I saw a wise old man smiling. I will leave it at that. Until tomorrow. xx
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