Walking The World - Podcast
In 2020 I participated in a short online writing course.
One of the exercises was to describe a photo in so many words, trying to evoke the senses and an emotion.
I no longer have the photo, but I can remember it well when reading the description, and today I knew there was more, there was a story to be told, someone’s story. I just didn’t know whose.
I tightened the description, removing some repetition, and listened to the voice describing the scene, except for her it wasn’t a scene, but a new day dawning.
I like her. I think she is wise, and I can learn much by listening to her.
She has so much more to give, but for now this is what she has shared with me…
WALKING THE WORLD
The straight lines of perfectly fitted boards contrast with the forever moving waves. The wood creaks under my feet, and the sea sighs in reply. The scent of damp sand, seaweed, and salt fills the air.
Two fishermen standing on the end of the pier discuss the rights and wrongs of the world while their lines twitch and flinch with the incoming tide, and the hope of a catch.
I keep my distance and observe the dawn.
Everything is painted in muted greys, nothing is defined, it’s gentle on the eyes, calm, until the halo of light from the rising sun stretches across the water and touches the land. Colours brighten on the shoreline, become themselves, separate from their neighbour, yellows, browns, and greens.
A building stands proud on the edge of the town, defying the sea to encroach on its white crisp lines and blue painted woodwork. Windows and doors open, and voices compete with the shrill cry of gulls who circle the seaside town in hope of breakfast.
I hope for breakfast, but not too hard, for the opposite of hope is despair and I will not let that cruel companion walk alongside me, or I will never see the beauty in each day.
Walking the world with no fixed abode is both a blessing and a curse.
I have the freedom to stop and watch a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, or a spider spin a new web. I have the freedom to turn left or right when my path splits and not worry about it being the right or wrong choice. There are no consequences except a missed view, perhaps.
I have no deadlines, no pressure to be somewhere at a certain time. I live for each moment, each footstep of discovery.
There are no rules, must do’s or must haves. I answer to no-one.
I do not need to live up to a label, pretend to be someone I am not, pretend to be happy, interested, caring, when inside I am screaming.
I have the freedom to be true to myself, but I am hungry, and I have no money.
I walk towards the awakening town. I smell coffee, hear a child’s protest at being pulled from their glorious dreams, smile at a cat stretching in a pool of sunlight.
I love experiencing a town waking up, it has new possibilities, a fresh start. I have no expectations, only anticipation of what this day will be.
What gift will this town give? A smile, a kind word, offer of a hot drink on this fresh morning? A stale cake from the bakery whose scents drift on the slight breeze? My mouth waters. I sit on a dew-soaked bench, unburden my back, and wait.
It hurts to be unseen, hurried past, turned away from. Even a nod of acknowledgment I will appreciate and carry with me until dusk, but I know I am a little pungent.
There are many reasons I have chosen to walk the world, and I won’t bore you with my tale, although if you want to listen for a moment I can share a snippet of my wanderings, describe the beauty of walking in the rain, huddling in a barn while a storm rages across open fields, the excitement of finding a cool stream on a hot day, the kindness of strangers, the honest words of children, the heart-thumping moments when a dog snarls and growls, the aching of chilled bones from sleeping on a hard bench in the winter, the delight when watching a lamb being born. So many to choose from, it’s best I don’t begin. I expect you are too busy. I’ll move out of your way and be silent.
Although, if you want to talk, I’ve all the time in the world, no judgement from me, no advice, no solutions to your problems, no comparing your life experiences to mine, no inane platitudes. I’ll just listen. And I’m discreet. I am walking the world, taking one day at a time, enjoying new places, gathering stories never to be retold, and I doubt our paths will cross again.
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