making some head way

 This retreat is demanding, and its a lot of hard work. I am, of course, referring to the mental demands of finding ways of moving forward, going against the grain that feels like its supposed to be clearly on track. 

Having the head space available to deliberate about the what and why and how of life, takes it out of you.  But the best thing about being in this peaceful place is that all pressure on me is just for me to expend as i see necessary. 

The walks on lovely wooded trails, the trees filled with the voices of birds to be indentified because I have the time and the app, and the quiet but persistent slushing of tiny tidal waves all require comtemplation and consideration. So this is a retreat , as most should be, that works on serving  the mind and soul. If some physical work is done, so be it, but don't feel like a failure if a day passes and  you don't have a clue where the time went.

The sum total of this day is that i folded and cut four 36" squares of canvas and reminded myself about using gesso . I did give myself an ultimatum and finally figured out bus times and went all the way to Westshore Town Center. This amounted to a rather unappealing group of shops and  businesses that did not invite me in. The bus had stopped right across from the store called something like Canada so i decided to check it out .It was rather like a mid size walmart . I figured out that because I  could catch the bus across the road and that  it would take me directly back to the house, I could do all my grocery here. so that is what I did!!    `

 Shopping in a place that seems  like everything was made in China was not bringing me joy but the direct and prompt arrival of a bus was. As readers may have noted, the desire to be a patron of public transport is idealistic. The fact is that in mid 21st. century (well near enough)! ) the world one lives in, dictates the pace and tempo at which we are programmed to navigate. Simply put, a car journey to a grocery store becomes at least a means to an end -get the keys, get in and drive for a few minutes while catching up on something on the car radio, Park, shop and typically within the hour one has returned home, stored the frozen food in the freezer and on to the next task. 

Without labouring the point, using a bus service that at best serves low income users and srtudents, means the schedule must be an app on the phone, that requires the wait for a timely bus at 2 hour intervals . The time lapse as one waits for those two hours to pass must be planned accordingly. The app eventaully tells you to hurry and then wait . The buses here are good, modern and clean,as well as on time. .The driver is welcoming and helpful.  The app asks you to report back on punctuality; is the bus clean, are the announcements loud enough?; are there enough stops?, was anyone rude? One of the first things i noticed about using the bus is that everyone thanks the driver as they exit the bus and most say hello when they enter. School students seem to have already learned how to behave in public with quiet conversation and promptly giving up a seat to others more senior than themselves. So  i have become aware that bus travel does a whole more than aids  fuel efficiency. The public conduct themselves in a socialable manner, we learn how to pace our timing rather then being impulsive and we generally slow down.  The down side of all this is the realisation that shopping for frozen food is not a sensible  choice. 

The last entry on here today is that back at home,  my car that was left there for regular use, was "rear-ended". The driver, using the car as planned by us, spent a few hours in various medical centres  being checked and scanned to be sure nothing was out of place. Thank goodness nothing serious beyond a headache from whiplash. .This could have been much worse and had me on  plane home but  the driver is okay and i breath again with  huge relief. 

The car will need some repair work but thats no worry.

This is a bunch of writing from an almost uneventful day.