Early Sunday morning, bright sunshine and train ticket in hand, I set off for Bristol Parkway station to catch the train down to Cornwall to retrieve Bumble. The walk to the station was nice. The early morning air had a nice cool stillness to it, and I covered the two and a half miles in good time.
The station was very quiet, hardly another passenger in sight as I sat waiting for the 10:32 train to Penzance. Having booked the ticket online, I was allocated a seat, 50A in coach D, and on alighting, I found that the carriage was almost empty too. Strangely, my seat was next to a lady going to Newton Abbot, but after a short discussion, it was agreed that, given the free space, I would not be hung, drawn or quartered if I moved to another seat.
The plan, fundamentally flawed as it turned out, was to use the Wi-Fi application on my mobile to connect my iPad to the internet, so I could write my submission to Homophilosophicus for June. As it turned out, the data connectivity on the Three network is more than a bit flaky between Bristol and Penzance, so that idea was quickly abandoned.
I did manage to pen a short submission for the blog, though that had to reside in my iPad until I got back to ‘civilisation’. But I resigned myself to passing the time by reading The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. Rather aptly, it relates the story of the end of an affair between two people, set against the backdrop of World War II. Not exactly the funniest book I’ve ever read, but it did give me a few things to think about.
Actually, by the time we reached Plymouth, I had read enough for one sitting, but as we left the station, passing close by the Naval dockyard, full of destroyers and other military craft, the scenery suddenly took on a most picturesque character. We crossed Brunel’s Tamar bridge, a most impressive construction, even by modern day standards and then began to weave our way along the shoreline, a mere stone throw from the sea.
The weather was closing in, and as we approached Redruth, where I was to meet Bumble, it was clear that the temperature had dropped significantly. Not that, in the event, it mattered one jot, because although I had no jacket, or even a sweater with me, my mobile rang and it was B, telling me that she was already at the station.
It was lovely to see her after all being apart for nearly a whole week, but upon inspection of her ankle, it was clear that it was still very bruised and swollen. I assumed my role as chauffeur and we headed off towards Bodmin and on to Bristol. The journey was rather uneventful, but it gave us lots of time to catch up on the week’s events and she had lots of stories about the islands and the people she had met on her travels.
By the time we got to the cottage, we were both pretty pooped. I don’t think Bumble had slept too well with the pain from her ankle, and Cornwall and back in a day is a pretty tiring round trip. So after a quick meal and a shower it was time for bed. It was nice to finally be able to do my rescue bit, and B was grateful for being spared the drive home.
So what did I learn from the episode? Well patience, something I clearly lack at times, is indeed a virtue, and that worrying about imagined issues is not only a huge waste of time and energy, but can be very counterproductive too, so don’t do it. I’ll try very hard not to in future.
Urgh !!! Monday morning, five o’clock, and the alarm on my mobile is insisting that it’s time to get up, pack, and set off back to Ringwood. I’m not going to say it again, but each time is just a little more painful than the last.
You know that feeling, when you have been struggling with a 5000 piece jigsaw of the Trooping of the Colour, and you finally slot in the very last piece? Well I didn’t have that feeling today, although another huge piece in this puzzle we laughingly call The Cottage, namely the stair carpet, went in today!
Monday, first proper day of the holiday and a task list as long as your arm. the problem was, most of the tasks required the purchase of this or that component before they could be completed. Both B and I have a serious allergy to shopping, so this could get messy.
When you start a new relationship, it’s very easy to get carried away by the wave of optimism that accompanies that first flush of excitement. Being a Buddhist doesn’t change that, it’s in my nature, and my family and friends can all see it happening before their very eyes.
There is an old saying, that before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticise them, you have a pair of their shoes, and you are a mile away 🙂
So many times, we have talked about the fact that we only lose when we decide we have lost. Having the courage, patience and determination to press on, even when all the signs are telling you to stop, to give in, to cut and run, can allow unexpected results to occur.
Never forget that making a decision is the beginning, and not the end of the process. In many ways starting something is the easiest part, seeing things through to their conclusion takes far more effort and patience as well as wisdom, courage and compassion.
It may be the weekend, but that doesn’t mean that we can take our foot off the software support pedal. As with most websites, our traffic is higher in the evenings and at the weekends, when people who work all week have the time to surf the web.
Some situations just get stuck, they just refuse to offer a resolution, be that through indecision, lack of control or reluctance to move on.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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