A Meditation On The Move...
I woke up to the bright Mediterranean light filtering through the curtains; a new dawn, the sun rising on a new but familiar land… I climbed out of our bed, slid open the door and slipped out onto the balcony. I could see the sparkling Ionian sea and Mount Pantokrator rising magnificently - a center piece to the scene.
It is warmer here than the UK; I was on the balcony taking ‘naked pictures’… as Amy reminded me later ‘You are always naked on your balconies Julia – perhaps you should make a calendar – "Julia naked on balcony" pictures around the world’!
'They would have to be tasteful’ I laughed ‘Me behind a plant or something…’
Amy is always full of ideas for me… It is because of Amy that Anadi and I met one another…
It was November 2012, I was just leaving my flat and I received a text from Amy; this is what it said, ‘Anadi Taylor has interviews on his site with people about meditating and their music, writing and spiritual practices and their work; can I contact him and ask him if he would like to interview you…?’
‘Yes, that’s okay’ I texted her a reply… and carried on my way… The rest is history; the interview was organized, the date and time set and so on Dec 6th 2012 I travelled to meet this aforementioned Anadi Taylor in North London to be interviewed about my running as a ‘meditation on the move…’
After a delicious breakfast - so much choice, cooked breakfast if that appealed, croissants and breads and walnut cake; cereals and fruits, cheeses ham and tomatoes… for myself i created a fabulous concoction of goji berries and juicy raisins in a syrup, walnuts and tahini and Greek yoghurt - Anadi and I worked for a few hours; he unpuzzling a big puzzle on his database and me doing two sessions on Skype.
And then we set off into the January sunshine; we wandered up the road and spotted a lady up a ladder tending her lemon tree. Her orchard was full of orange and lemon trees, all abundant and brightly coloured – shades of green and amber, yellow and orange...
We were admiring the lush trees; laden with their fruits; she smiled at us and we greeted one another and climbed down from her ladder gesturing to us, asking if we would like some fruit. We smiled and nodded in affirmation. She stepped quickly into her orchard, climbed another ladder and picked us four juicy oranges from her tree…
I went back to our hotel to put our oranges in our room and then we ran a couple of miles into Corfu town along the coast, arriving at the old fortress in time for lunch…
The winter sun was warm, I ran in my shorts and vest - the Greek people are more wrapped up… We sat outside in a restaurant watching the world go by; there was a sudden flurry of barking and wild activity as three dogs chased a ginger and white cat who had been relaxing just near our feet. The cat skittered across the road and leapt nimbly up to the top of a tree; all was peaceful again...
‘i don't have everything that is written on the menu’ the proprietor told us, ‘because we are out of season...'
‘But you have Greek salad?’ I asked and smiled, ‘of course…’ she laughed…
Greek salad swimming in olive oil mopped up with crusty bread on a warm winters day, sitting in the golden light that is unique to Corfu; the feel of the island unique and individual too; so different to our last land; our Thailand magic place…
But Corfu has beautiful magical energy too; a special bright light energy all of her own.
