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Caption: today, I am thankful for
Caption: I’ve been trying to write a story since last week but - and I’m sure this is relatable to everyone - my mind has been too busy. Thousands of words crashing around my brain, reacting to everything. For me, a need to write, but also a need to just… pause. Settle. Find a calmer mental space. And so having written a few versions of this story, I’m going to keep this one simple. I’ve started a wee series on Instagram called ‘today, I am thankful for’ and I want to share this here too. Starting with this: a simple local walk, watching the sun set.
Video of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: It was Thursday last week, a few days before the lockdown here in the UK. Things were moving fast. I’d watched too much news, absorbed too much on social media. Chatted by DM to friends who were closing the doors to their businesses, or were about to. Friends who had lost all their planned work. Opportunities cancelled. Friends talking about anxiety. We’ve all had those same conversations, I know.
Picture of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: It was late afternoon and I wanted to clear my head, so I walked to our local beach. On the way, I could see the light ahead, through the trees. This beautiful sunset glowing over the Forth. It was low tide, so I walked out onto the mussel beds, fronds of seaweed slippery beneath my feet, densely packed shells crunching lightly. And I paused at the edge of the water, looking towards Edinburgh in the distance, grateful for this moment.
Picture of Musselburgh
Video of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: After a while I headed back to the shore and perched on a washed up log to watch the fading glow. A guy walked down onto the beach alongside me, but metres away, observing our new socially distanced space. He was watching the sunset too. Although we were metres apart, it was so quiet and calm, with barely a breeze, so we spoke, first about the sunset, and then about the week, the news. He said that he expected to lose his job. He spoke about his friend who had just trained as a paramedic and had started work this week, of all weeks. The craziness of it, being on the front line. I couldn’t imagine having that resilience.
Picture of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: We watched the sun set, and I walked back down to the water’s edge to take a last few photos before saying “goodbye” and “take care, stay safe,” the greeting that has now replaced all other greetings or email sign offs.
Picture of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: So today I am thankful for this place, this peace amongst the vast uncertainty of life at the moment. And I am thankful for conversations, with friends and people I know, and also some I don’t. I am thankful for these connections.
Picture of Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Caption: THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2020 #todayiamthankfulfor
