A Woman, A Tent & Her Bike

Here I am at the Welsh/English Border at Knighton in Shropshire. There is blue sky, green fields and the mewing of a bird of prey. The water is starting to boil in the camp kettle and the teabag is waiting in the cup. I am blissfully alone for a couple of days so there is no chitchat, except the one going on in my head. This is a constant dialogue, no monologue (it is just me!). Actually, I take that back – it is a dialogue as there is definitely ‘someone’ talking back. There is good cop/bad cop, parent and child, risk taker and scaredy cat, best friend and frenemy, me and a bar of Fruit and Nut.

I have just had a wonderful walk along some of the Offa’s Dyke path and I wondered how many people have trodden that path before me. The stunning views atop Cwm-Sanaham Hill are 360`. It was windy up there so my breath was taken in more than one way. Many, many people have trodden the very same path but when I did it it felt like the original discovery. The path of self-discovery feels just like this, like you are the first person to feel this way. You can read about it, you can hear about it, you can watch it on TV but there is nothing quite like the immersive experience of the doing of it. This is when you feel it. And this is when you want to share it. But who will listen?

 I took the obligatory scenic shot and selfie and sent them to my partner who has walked the same spot of the path. He has probably got the very same shots himself but this was my moment of discovery and he received them with good grace and with a happiness in my joy. A simple ‘I loved it too’ as opposed to ‘yes but you should see it from Bailey Hill!’.

I am thinking of times in my life when I have given a crass reply with the objective of telling my own story. Rather than having a curiosity of someone else’s experience I have only wanted to tell them I already know everything about it and more. Knowing it all is not a teenager’s prerogative, us oldies do it even better, just without the eye roll. The quality of our conversations are so much better when we ask a question and then really listen. The other person feels valued and we learn something new.