Earlier in the week I read a blog post by Pete Townshend, who wrote about his dislike for the winter months; he can't wait for the days to get longer (and lighter outside).
I am aware that a lot of people tend to feel a bit down during the winter months, and I guess I have similar feelings from time to time. Once the Christmas season has passed and everyone has finished wishing everybody a happy new year, people just wait for winter to finish. Too many cold, grey days can start to get on one's nerves and emotions.
True, it can get a little bleak at times, but I really like the contrast of extreme temperatures. There is nothing quite like sitting with a cup of coffee in a cozy living room, especially after having just been outside in chilly weather. One of the things I like about my neighborhood is seeing everyone simply going about their business despite the cold, even little kids.
It was a bit rainy last weekend, and was trying hard to snow, but in the end it was just more wet than white and fluffy. One early evening, either Friday or Saturday, I was standing outside the pub collecting my thoughts when a little boy, no more than 2 or 3 years old, came whizzing by on his little riding toy. Okay, maybe whizzing is a generous description; let's just say that he passed by with relative speed for his age.
He was riding a little toy that immediately reminded me of the Fisher Price Mobile Explorer that I had at his age. I absolutely loved that thing, and raced around (as fast as my legs would propel me) everywhere on it. This little guy was doing much the same thing, obviously out and about with his mother, who was walking a few steps behind him. The rain had subsided, but it was still cold and wet. Said little one was having a little conversation with himself, and I could hear his mother gently guiding him.
Suddenly, he saw a small puddle, so abruptly stopped his motion, got off and ran to the puddle, then did a little dance. He was wearing very small rain boots and was well bundled up. And happy to be splashing in the puddle.
The mother kind of glanced at me as she headed over to her son, probably wondering why I had such a big smile on my face. I was simultaneously having a very happy thought about my childhood and as well, feeling a lot of hope and happiness for the future generations. It is always nice to see little kids enjoying themselves just for the sake of it. The mother obviously felt the same way; she allowed him his little moment, and then he was ready to get back on his toy and ride on home.
During one of my next moments outside, I saw another similar scene, this time without any riding toy. Across the street was a somewhat larger puddle, but another little boy was walking home with his parents, and made a beeline for it as soon as he noticed it. Again, he was properly dressed in rain boots and warm overcoat, and did a remarkably similar dance to the other little boy from earlier. And the smile was just as big.
Those little warm moments were enough to get my week off to a good start, and things continued in a good way when I encountered a little video of some golden retriever puppies all playing together. In a puddle.
If we have little happy moments like this, then winter seems like a really nice time, and not so dark and cold at all.
On the piano front, I had a really good week working on some new material, but also practicing some old favorites. Recently I have been reading a book about effortless mastery, and one of the key points is to think "every note that I play is the most brilliant sound I have ever heard. There are no WRONG notes."
Although the book is geared towards playing and performing music, I am recognizing a deeper meaning that affects other aspects of life. It certainly helps on the self-esteem front.
We did not have any more rain at the end of the week, but it is still really cold. I finished up my work week last evening, then headed over to the pub for a few quiet pints. I was glad to see a friend who had been ill the past week or two. We caught up on events (or lack of them) and it was a pleasant start to the weekend. Although I probably had one too many beers (note - there is a prize for the reader who knows how many times I have written such a sentence in this blog) I went home and decided to watch a movie.
It might seem a little odd that it has taken me so long to get around to watching The Intouchables, especially since I am huge fan of French film, and even more recently, a fan of the composer who contributed much of the music to the soundtrack.
Well, the film was definitely worth the wait. Sure, it is a feel good movie, and that has only added to the happy thought collection of my week. I struggled ever so slightly with the original version (French dialog) along with the German subtitles. I will certainly watch it again very soon, likely with less beer.
So, if this past week is any indication as to how winter is going to be, then I would say hey, let's have winter for several more months.
bundle up if you have to, but see you out there
bryan
No comments:
Post a Comment