So many distractions! Day 2

Day two, it should be easy right? I should be nose to the grindstone, flinty focused on the goal I shared with you with great excitement only yesterday.

I thought I had a productive day all mapped out. But then I saw that rain would start at mid-day and last until late. Perfect weather for book promotion and I could make the most of a sunny morning by walking to the Manjushri Buddhist centre to mow their lawns before the rain.

The first distraction wasn't my fault. Honest! About six people replied to the FB post to say that they'd enjoyed 'Spun', had passed it on to friends or offered to write a review. These kind words are golden voices in the dark, saying "Your work mattered to me! Keep going!"

Then I got distracted by a video of a pregnant women getting arrested in Melbourne last night for having posted details of a peaceful protest march. It didn't seem right to ignore it, so I shared it on Facebook. I found it disturbing and as I marched along the beach to Manjushri, I started to pray for peace.

An old hymn caught in my thoughts and I sang it as I walked, round and around.

"Make me a channel of your peace, Where there is hatred let me bring your love.

Where there is injury, pardon, And where there's doubt, faith.

Oh Master, grant that I may never seek, so much to be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love with all my soul."

Sometimes with all this going on it's hard to feel that we are actually doing anything to help.

The lawns in the Buddhist centre certainly needed my help. After working full time in Manjushri's gardens during the few three months of lockdown from March, I'd returned to my little cottage and neglected them. I wheeled the super heavy and extremely stubborn petrol mower out and revved the engine. I consider cutting a lawn with a very loud lawnmower the perfect opportunity to have a very loud sing when no-one can hear me over the noise.

Last weekend, Mr Walkabout and I spent three days climbing mountains and as I panted up each rocky step, I was thinking about how one achieves anything. Step by step by step.

This morning, drowned out by the roar of the industrial mower I sang with gusto 'Climb Every Mountain' as loud as I could, on repeat.

Climb every mountain! Ford every stream!

Follow every rainbow! Til you find your dream!

I was having a lovely time.

Until a nun banged open a window and with an unusually un-peaceful face waved to get my attention then clapped her hands over her ears!

I assumed that she meant the noise of the lawn mower was disturbing her meditation and put my hands up in a helpless gesture to show I couldn't do anything about the noise of the engine.

I started mowing again. Then realised she meant my singing. Oh.

Anyway, the lawns took longer than expected and then I got drenched in the rain coming home. A shower, a meal and then I remembered that David Blaine was floating up to 25, 000 ft under a bunch of helium balloons before free-falling and parachuting to land. Live on YouTube right that minute.

I couldn't miss that, could I?

While David was hanging mid-air at the height of Everest, I got an email from a dear friend to say that his cancer had returned and he didn't expect to be around much longer. Then another dear friend told me his relationship had broken up.

Suddenly my challenge to share my book didn't seem very important at all.

Life and happiness is certainly fragile.

The one thing I did today to promote my book was to have a live Instagram interview with @sleightlysmoking Jack Murdock, a magician in California.

At one point, he said the due to technical issues, he couldn't see me any more. At which point, since I was getting a bit hot, I flapped my top open a bit revealing my bra and a little more.

Then he told me that although he couldn't see me, everyone else could.

Class.

See you tomorrow!