duck thoughts

My friend Ray, at the cottage. Photo courtesy Ray,
though Andy was the one who took it.


I went for a run today, out to the lake. The temperature was perfect, cool enough to sweat without discomfort, warm enough to get away with wearing just a t-shirt and light shell on top. When I reached the end of one of the long piers, I climbed up on a concrete post and sat with my knees pulled up to my chest, watching the lake for a while.

Out on the water, over a hundred ducks floated quietly, some regarding me with vague suspicion. Maybe it was part of some mating ritual duck thing, who knows. First thing that crossed my mind was, Man, their butts must be cold. Then I thought, but how peaceful they look, just floating out there in the sunshine, doing nothing.

It looked so peaceful that I closed my eyes for a few minutes and tried to clear my mind, to think like a duck (or how I imagined they were thinking, anyway). It's much harder to think of nothing than you might imagine; inevitably little worry-thoughts creep in to disturb your zen-like nothingness: "We're out of milk" or "I forgot to return Cathy's call" or "Lordy, my butt's getting cold sitting on this cement!" (so at least I did manage to achieve that small affinity with the ducks, after all).

So I give up on nothingness and decide to focus on positivestuff instead. Like the fact that my elbow sprain is finally healed and my tendinitis is much better these days, continues to improve. Like the fact I'm running again. Like the fact that I'm going to be seeing my nieces Sara and Annie today. All things that fill me with a quiet joy and anticipation.

A good day already, and it's not even noon. :-)

April 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ