Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

The jet-lag has been pretty mild in the week that I have been back; I have found my eyes closing in the early evening, but otherwise I have been sleeping solidly for what I usually call monks’ hours, waking up before the early summer sunrises. The weather has also been kind, with the exception of the rain storm that whipped through on Saturday. The clouds and wind had appeared by the end of the roam on Friday, and Saturday was just grey and wet for hours, a throwback to the many wet weekends of this past winter. The temperatures have been creeping up since then, and have now arrived at a typical May balminess.

As always, weeks of being on holiday remind me how nice it is to live unscheduled, and it has been hard to adjust to the concentration needed for full days of audio work in front of a screen. Since I am lacking a few regular commitments at the moment, it has been possible to ease myself back in on other days. And while I can feel the urge to spring-clean, anticipating that I will be moving in with my partner very soon means I don’t feel motivated to do any deep cleaning until I have emptied my current place. 

On Sunday we went up to Sonoma to assist with a retreat that my Core colleague Jen was leading, at a beautiful hillside location. Since the host was accompanying us on the mindful hike, I didn’t even need to worry about not getting lost on the trails, which I had been studying on various maps over the previous few days. A gently-paced yoga session also helped get my back closer to feeling normal, as have my outings on my bike – still short by usual standards, but good enough for the time being.