I went to the Himalaya

I went to the Himalaya recently.I would like to share my diary. I've thought about the value of this for a week since I got back.. I have seen too many time- wasting blogs which tell you moment by moment,someones boring day routine including what they had for breakfast. Don't panic;its not going to be a chronological account of my trip,although that will be the structure around which I will write my thoughts as sort of essays.And a couple of sketches and snaps.
With love and kindness,Duncan

Somewhere up there:from left to right Me,Duncan ,Chow,Dave,Dan

Nah, take a Coldral

Winters coming. A few years back we decided to ‘obey’ nature and hunker down, sit by the fire and take a 2 week holiday at mid -winter. This was in response to getting sick every winter, dragging ourselves through the days, feeling lethargic. One day we realized it wasn’t some moral turpitude and laziness that caused the yearly malaise; it was winter and we were connected to it. Winter is a good time to do inside things. It gives time to reflect; to become conscious. You can gather quite a lot of energy over winter, and by the time spring comes you are ready to move. In our ancestral selves this would have meant prepare gardens etc.

I do remember those years when we slowed everything down; we didn’t get sick or depressed. We sat by the fire, played games,read books, went for walks.

Our society makes no mention of winter in the psychological/spiritual/physiological sense. Inside us, we are connected to this world. That’s why we slow down in winter, it’s why we don’t want to get up in the mornings. If we ‘obey’ nature-ie stop the pretence that we are above it and take a Coldral and soldier on.

 If only our work practices allowed for this we would make massive savings nationally.Even if we all took a holiday for 2 weeks there would be no noticeable effect on GDP and productivity. There would be less colds and flu which attach themselves to a weakened host. In fact there could be a rise in every health indicator as people would feel better having rested with family or in nature, travelling  and so on. I propose calling this time of year Winterswait.

It will become a cultural habit like siesta-it works when everyone does it.