Le Lunch...
There is a softness and tranquility to this beautiful French landscape. I was up early and out before many other people were stirring this morning…
Running through a painting of poppies, lavender amongst the grass and the vines in the fields… The roads were flat initially and moving as if by themselves, with me running on the spot, the backdrop of a landscape changing behind me like a scene from Mary Poppins…
There was a signpost to Vieux Oppede, so I turned right and ran up a long hill that brought me to the old town, the ruins of an abbey, and above that the remains of the old castle…
The village dates back to the 12th century… By living high up on an inaccessible mountain top, the villagers were in a better position to defend and protect themselves from predators; but by the 19th century they had had enough of the north facing, cold situation, which was also difficult to get water to…
The houses were cold and dank and tricky to maintain, under the shadow of the petit Luberon mountain… And so they moved their homes to the valley, which had cosier homes, wider roads and was closer to their fields….
It is here that my brother and Sue have their French home…
I ran through the cobbled street of medieval Vieux Opedde, and passed a beautiful café… Flowers winding through the trellis, tables set out on the cobbles of the terrace and I heard the coffee calling to me…!
I ran on and thought of Anadi, how much we would enjoy sitting there talking and, eating , drinking coffee, enjoying being together in another café in our home… the planet.
He is meeting a ‘programming deadline’ this weekend… Working every hour he has available, creating something out of nothing… His mind is a genius mind, and he says that he can ‘see’ the answers inside him and then he must use his mind for the puzzling out and bringing out ‘onto the page…’
Our mind is for that purpose, a tool to be used to follow up our intuition, our inner directives, our creativity that flows from within us…. The mind can shape it into form and structure it and make it manifest here in our world…
I have witnessed Anadi sit at a computer for twelve hours, fifteen sometimes when the need has been there… To finish something, to create something, to respond to a deadline… or rather to reach the finish line!
He loves it, and so occasional marathon efforts are okay; in the same way I might like to run from London to Brighton, once in a blue moon! But the capacity for a supreme effort is not something to be abused or overused; it is enough to know the ability is there when necessary…
It is helpful if we think in terms therefore, of building energy rather than draining it out; building a reserve for the times when we might need a big effort; a supreme outpouring…
We have more a capacity than we ever know, and it is often the doubt of our capabilities which means we ‘try too hard’ as a way of ‘being’, always under stress and pushing too hard… using more energy than we need; this can mean that when the time comes for a big effort it can be too much; and break us down….
'Build up' rather than 'break down….'
I think of this in my running…. By never over doing it, but stretching the comfort zone as Pru and I were doing when she came for her development week, incredible reserves are built and then ‘superhuman’ performances occur…
The paradox is that relaxing is the way to do this, staying present, and clearing tension… Staying this side of the push allows for a build up of positive energy and keeps us loving what we do rather than it becoming a chore….
Exhaustion comes from ongoing push, tension and stress each day….
Here in Provence Le lunch is observed like a ritual… For two hours everything stops, shops are shut and Le Lunch is enjoyed, honoured, relaxation happens…
Sue, my sister in law, was telling me this morning that productivity in France exceeds Britain where lunch has all but become a forgotten occasion in the working week…
Staying here with Stuart and Sue I have greatly enjoyed Le Petit dejeuner, Le Lunch and Le Diner!
There has been little time for much else!