Rainbows ...

The decision to book the flight to Faro has shifted things that seemed stuck ... mainly the way to think about the house, which has the potential to shift my consciousness back to security and away from the relative freedom experienced in the years of homelessness (appropriating this word is not meant to compare my feckless choice with the suffering of people who are homeless and wish they were not) ....

Anyway, setting off on an extended wander, without return date set, has reminded the house who is the master in this relationship .... hopefully the invitation for others to use the resource as a retreat will be taken up ...in any case, current thinking is to postpone renovation works, lock the door and leave keys for any visitors .... though, as always, all is subject to change ...

After a week of sub-zero temperatures, with wonderful bright days for walking and lethal icy pavements trapping many elders indoors, a thaw, accompanied by sunshine and showers, produces a raging river and some magical rainbows ... and the thought that a rational explanation for the rainbow effect is best avoided to preserve the joy ... better to tease out a deeper metaphor, that without the rain there is no bow, though the light may come directly from Sun or reflected by Moon ... meanwhile the elders are released with the return of the minibus outings ... though only one was cancelled during this latest cold spell ...

The editor arrives, bringing a feminist book as a gentle attempt to improve the slackness of the blog, though the topic is not pursued ... nor anything much editorial, rather some reminiscence of shared work in the parallel universe of local government, and some advice on renovation, since he is a confident DIYer who proposes opening up the attic for further living space ... hmmm, another one to muse on whilst wandering ... what will the house think about such radical expansion?

As for early reading, Master Hsin Yun's "Describing the Indescribable", an interpretation of the Diamond Sutra, popped up on a shelf in the Oxfam bookshop the other day, and joins other books attempting similar feats ... all impossible for the mind in rational mode of course ...