August Sunshine

Today it is a beautiful sunny day in West Cornwall, although it is also quite windy. There is quite a lot of blue sky with only the occaasional clouds as I look out of the window which is most unusual for this part of Cornwall where we have been getting bouts of quite thick fog, particularly in the early morning. Recently the farmer cut the grass in the field behind the house and left it to dry in neat rows. It all looks very summery somehow. The local birds made the most of the opportunity to catch the bugs which were now accessible from the cut grass, particularly the crows.

Blink!

Image via Wikipedia

Blink and I've missed it
Whatever that moment brought
Too concerned
With what is going on in my head
Not looking at what is around me
The surprises, changes and wonders
Blink and I've missed it.

Cot Valley Walk

Yesterday, as it was such a beautiful afternoon, I decided to go for a walk around the top of Cot Valley. It was a lovely walk and my route took me to places which were largely ignored by tourists. I took the opportunity of taking a number of photos as I went along marking the progress of my journey. I'm so pleased that my mobile has camera facilities as it is so much easier to carry on a long walk than my digital camera which is much heavier even though the photographs aren't always as good. My mobile often works as a spur-of-the-moment photographic recorder which can be a lot of fun as well as spontaneous.

Plymouth Argyle

Image via Wikipedia

So it's the start of another season and Argyle are in League One after being relegated from the Championship last season. Since that time, they've had a change of manager and several new players have been signed so I hope it's all go for Argyle this season and that they'll get back to the Championship. Today, they're playing Southampton away.

Chapel Carn Brea

After a fairly disastrous night I finally made it up to the shops and then spontaneously decided to drive to Chapel Carn Brea which is fairly close to where I live. It was bright and sunny with just enough wind to stop it from being too hot and it was a pleasant little walk from the road to the top. The view from the top was stunning and I felt glad both for the spontaneous thought and the walk.

Boundaries

Image by vincos via Flickr

As someone who often finds it hard to say 'no' and was brought up to put other people first, it has been very difficult for me to set personal boundaries as this in some way felt selfish. As I've matured, I have come to understand that it is so essential to be able to set boundaries both spacially and emotionally in order to be fully yourself and not at the beck and call of others all the time. In this respect I feel that it is essential that in my attitudes to myself it is as necessary to be as compassionate as I would be of another person's feeling or space. Everybody needs their own room to develop and grow unhindered by others and this is an important part of learning and spiritual growth, because if we don't feel happy with setting our own boundaries on what is and is not acceptable in our lives, then this is going to affect the manner in which we relate not only to ourselves and the rest of the world but also in our own personal relationships. I have had to start to set new boundaries in my life and am becoming very much aware of what is and is not OK. I read a very valuable piece on self-compassion and this certainly has a bearing not only on setting boundaries but how we learn to become more caring of ourselves in our lives and more forgiving of our shortcomings.

Water

Image via Wikipedia

Water is so important to all life on earth that we tend to undervalue it because we often get too much of it in the UK. I say this now as I look out of the window and it is raining again and has been for most of the morning. Perhaps we had high expectations after the lovely June weather that July didn't fulfill. At least all this rain is good for the garden even though it makes it hard to get out and do all the tidying and clearing that I would like to do.