Transition Day
Travel day anxiety recedes as my body, mind and spirit transition across time and place. I'm moving on from Kernow (Cornwall) in my bubble of one, with snacks.
Touring with working musicians was pretty blurry - advancing run sheets, early morning lobby calls, repetitive counting of heads and pieces of luggage. My mind was always on the ‘what to do’ for the ‘where to next’. I had to always be prepared and one step ahead for anything unforseen. I was rarely present in the moment and caught up in multiple travel day anxieties for weeks on end at times.
As I move on to my next destination - I am yes, super organised but not busy-of-mind worrying about everyone else and logistics beyond my control.
It feels fun and free to only be responsible for getting myself from A to B.
Before moving on I reflected on my seven weeks in Cornwall and thought about what I am leaving behind :
worn out trainers and hundreds of thousands of footsteps
countless deep inhales and exhales of fresh air
the local produce that sustained me - cornish cheese (cumin infused gouda!), butter, eggs, pasties, beer, gin and yogurt covered honeycomb bites were favourites
a playlist of Australian music - a soundtracked thank you to Will, Alice and Veronica at The Good Stuff who made me so welcome every morning
the unhealthy habit of harbouring an unremitting inner critic. Being alone gave me the space to really hear my thoughts and banish the unhelpful ones!
Mindful of not collecting more kilos of suitcase I dispatched the heavier layers back to home base. I used them to cushion a few antique glass bottles for my collection, rare book finds and locally made St Eval gorse-scented candles.
Gorse is the sweet coconut-ish smelling yellow flower that was abundant on the South West Coast Path cliffs when I was here.
I bought a painting from my next door neighbour at The Old Forge Gallery. Helen Setterington paints outdoors and her latest work captures the wild beauty, air and magic of nearby Beeny Cliff. Art for home to remind me of the coastline I have fallen in love with.
I am leaving Cornwall with a very full heart. The energy of this place has healed some deep wounds. The locals and friends I have made in the village have sustained me with conversation, local knowledge, quirky wisdom and generous spirits.
One clear Sunday morning I walked up to the Boscastle Farm Shop and Michael, a local farmer out for a walk with his working dog, stopped for a chat across the lane. He moved to Cornwall from Wiltshire twenty years ago.
“The bluebells are much better this year than last spring” he said.
Hearing my accent he enquired if I knew about the flood that went through here in 2004. I replied that I did and shared how my home city of Brisbane experienced devastating floods too.
Before we parted he wanted to share his joy with me:
“Yesterday I saw a rainbow that stretched from the Forbury Church all the way to Pentargon Cliff. I didn’t have a camera with me so I am so happy to share it with you now.”
It has been a joy to share my time in Cornwall with you all too. I will miss the pure air, the vivid green woodland and the flowers rewilding every available open space.
However, it is now time to transition and move on to other places and experiences.
Latin root - trans means ‘across’
The anxiety of travel day logistics eases when thinking of them more as transitional flow across places. I practice presence in the time and space between destinations and hold a mindful balance between my inner and outer worlds in my bubble of one.
It’s four hours on the train from Bodmin Parkway to London across Cornwall and Devon. No steps traversing the country today as I sat in ‘first class’ carriage K, seat 17.
My thoughts drift from memories of my Dad’s love for trains to my bafflement of dogs needing bathrooms on long train journeys. The only interruption is a jolly dude with a trolley throwing snacks at me - lentil crisps, roasted peanuts, fruitcake and chocolate biscuits. The Brits sure like their complimentary train snacks!
We stop at Plymouth. I think about my ancestors and all the Cornish folks dispatched via ships to escape failed tin mines, drought and poverty in the mid 1800s to the colony of so-called Australia.
I am hardwired with a punctuality operating system. My friends know I am never late, rarely on time and pretty much always early. Alert to unavoidable delays today I’m still grateful that the trains ran on time.
There are no soundchecks for me to navigate anymore.
I’ve learned to not commit to anything on the evening at a new destination. Arriving and orienting to a new place is enough.
Listening - “All of Us” an album by Luke Howard. The perfect soundtrack for moving through space and time on trains and planes.
Viewing - laughed out loud on the train to “Pretend It’s a City” on Netflix. Fran Lebowitz sitting down for chats with Martin Scorsese about her life as a writer and humorist living in New York City.
Eating - sustainably caught local lobster with smoked pine butter at my repeat visit to The Rocket Store Boscastle.
#walkon2023 Step Count - accumulative total 466,359 steps (as at 1 June 2023) AND approx 1,006 floors (which is 3 km!) As this quantification sounds so impressive, and I can’t believe I have done that, I thought I would report it :)