I received an email from a friend yesterday who commented about my previous posting, expressing surprise that I had done and seen so much while I was Singapore. She asked, “does that mean that you’ve fully recovered?!”
Well no, not really, but… when it comes down to it, I continue to live according to the day-to-day, glass-half-full theory, whereby I plan as much as I can, accomplish as much as my body allows me – and I rest or wrap up the day when it’s time.
But really, why write about the downside of my backside? Why write about how I’ve learned that a sunny day bodes so much better for a planned outing into the city than rain, because – as I discovered when I went to the Botanic Gardens – though I can lie down to my heart’s content, in the shade, on large swaths of well-manicured grass (yes, even in Singapore, land of taboos!), once the skies open and the ground gets drenched, I’m at the mercy of available shelters. So I end up lying on a hard wooden floor under a roof lakeside, suddenly surrounded by a flock of pigeons staring and cooing in wonder.
Why write about how I so badly need a rest after a bit of shopping that (after getting the boot from a salesperson who’s noticed me curled up a bit too long on a couch in his store) I slip into the nearest posh hotel, quickly scanning for the most comfortable spots to recline, trying my best not to attract the attention of managers, security and tourists – indeed, attempting to look as if I’m a guest!
As long as I keep going, find distractions, but honor and respect my back and body, I can achieve almost as much as I plan for.
But even if I make it back to the Indonesian Embassy to pick up my passport, there’s no telling what messages my body will transmit at the most inopportune time, how stubbornly it will demand rest. If the guard resists finding me a solution, then I must do so myself – even if it means taking up four empty bucket seats outside an office to get horizontal.
By now, nearly three years later, seeking out alternatives and modifications comes so naturally to me, that it doesn’t bear much comment. I have no qualms about taking up an empty row of seats on a plane even though I’ve been assigned a seat elsewhere; nor about using a padded mattress over my yoga mat in the studio. Likewise, I lie on a mat on Dave and Pong’s floor when I go over to watch a movie, and now have a bean bag from Patricia outside my door on which I can recline to read and write.
Which is why I prefer to write about all that I CAN do and see – headstands, trips, and dancing included – because that’s the main story line.. and the rest is…well, just the back(side) story.
Carpe diem 🙂
Healing Pilgrim 