Worldly Chatter

You ever feel that life just makes sense, all of it, even if for only five minutes? I had my moment yesterday afternoon and it lasted about a half hour. It was actually really nice to have while in the midst of a really boring and unproductive day. In the last few months I have been slacking on my power walks and yoga, about November when I started writing my book and my bum has been lazy ever since. Not a good thing when the walk itself not only helps me physically but it helps clear my thoughts. I wrote more and better when I walked daily and I didn’t carry my stress on my sleeve on a regular basis. Dutchie called while at work and I expressed my boredom, my inability to get much of anything done because my attention span was that of a four year old. It’s relatively nice out why don’t you go for a walk was a suggestion as well as movie watching and video gaming. Ok, I can do this I think to myself while my bum is still on the chair. That was at one, at two I had the veggies for dinner chopped and prepared to be cooked along with the chicken and so I went for that walk.
Oh how it felt good! One thing I love about Holland is the endless canals! You find them everywhere not just in the major cities and older towns. When I was in Almere on Flevoland there was a canal right by my house that I walked around daily. The scenery was beautiful, the air clean and crisp and it was great when while you walked you smiled at fellow walkers and joggers who also called that canal their own. So you know Flevoland isn’t that old, it was land reclaimed by the Dutch and was completely for living in 1986. An amazing land even if it is below sea level and I hope that we can move there next year. It’s the plan! But I am getting off track. Here where I reside now the canals aren’t as prominent of a feature as in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Almere but there is a small one nearby that I have found.
My new tennis shoes and I left the house and began the walk to the canal and walk through it and back home. Positively beautiful and I had that moment where all was good, all was as it should be and my mood was content and happy. As I concentrated on my breathing and my footing my brain started to clear and I was in that zone where only my breathing, footing and the music in my ears were around me. No thoughts on if I was getting my residence here as I have the letter sitting on my table, no thoughts on things that have been or things that would be. The birds were singing, the trees making their own sounds against the wind and only dog walkers and joggers were around me. I even had a dog follow by my side for a few moments until he realized his owner was quite a distance ahead of him and trotted off wagging his tail as he left.
When I left the canal area and back on the main road to the direction of my home I saw cyclists pass, an older lady who thought it would be kind to walk on the road while I passed by and smiled at me. Ah how nothing was wrong! Holland was home and I was in the midst of it and no one knew that not long ago I was someone who was in limbo. I said dag or middag and smiled back at who ever went by.
Now that I was home with my not so white tennis shoes I was pleased that I had taken my Dutchies advice and left the house. I had a good sweat going on and a positive mood. Just walking around and seeing life as it goes on everyday made me feel like I was a part of it in some small way. I wasn’t an expat; I wasn’t this unsure individual waiting news on my permit. I was just as they were, going about life, breathing, living and carrying my dreams on my sleeve instead of my stress.