+.+.+ where is your attention?

"all of humanity's problems stem from man's
inability to sit quietly in a room alone"
wrote the French philosopher 
Blaise Pascal
waaaay back in the 1600's
before smartphones and internet
and all those distracting things

screens we look at when we wake
manipulated algorithms
memes
edited social online lives

technology is an easy scapegoat
we can kid ourselves
whatever it is or isn't
have we been manipulated?
we have been robbed of our attention

I heard an interesting interview with 
Max Cooper
an electronic artist and biological scientist
mixing science with music 
he went completely offline and into isolation
for a month to record his latest album
freeing himself from interruptions

it's good to have times of disconnection
self imposed restrictions
reconnecting with the things
we enjoyed before
the dopamine surge addiction
when your phone 'pings'

regain control of your attention

// // // // the power of outside

The Way of Filatiers

voie verte

this "Greenway" was built on the right-of-way 

of the old Lavelanet - Bram railway line 

between Lavelanet and Mirepoix 

I walk along it most mornings

above the village

past gardens

no cars

yes cyclists

walkers

animals

mostly juste moi

along the lower path

past the chickens, guinea pigs

howling hunters dogs 

cows with their bells jangling

a timid little black cat

a curious black and white dog

first snowdrops

fields and forest to my left

the best part is my return walk

after living in the very flat county of Essex

most of my life

I've a new love

magnificent mountains 

snow topped 

village rooftops

hazy clouds

never boring

"The object of walking is to relax the mind. 

You should therefore not permit yourself even to think while you walk; 

but divert your attention by the objects surrounding you."

Jefferson wrote in this letter to Peter Carr in 1785

+- retour/depart

 when you're stuck in life's inbetweens
treading water until the next page
small rituals keep you afloat

wake when it is still dark
make a cup of tea
glance at posts online
unroll your yoga mat
breathe
shower
eat breakfast
go for a walk ....

breathe
reconnect
at some point the tide will change
and I'll be swept off in a new direction