Learning to walk again
Spotted this cool car in the shadows.
I’m staying a couple of nights in a part of Chiang Mai I’ve never been to before.
When walking the streets, I find myself more alert. Partly because I want to understand where I am, and partly because I don’t want to miss any interesting places hiding in the alleys. Small cafés you won’t find in map apps, some cool street art, or an abandoned car left to disappear in the shadows.
It sounds a bit exhausting, being alert and awake. As if you have to turn up your awareness a notch or two. Like it requires effort.
And maybe the last part is true. It does take effort, but not in a tiring way. On the contrary. I find it very relaxing.
Just walking around and paying attention to the surroundings. People, places, smells, sounds, and your own existence in the middle of it all. It becomes quite a meditative experience.
I wish I could tune into that state of mind more often in places that are already familiar to me. But instead, just because I ‘know this place inside out’, my attention drifts away. I end up thinking about what’s coming next or what has already been, completely overlooking what is.
And the irony is that it’s usually more exhausting to live in the past or the future than to simply be where you already are.
Instead of souvenirs, I hope to bring home the ability to walk like this anywhere. Like a child, always curious about what life has to offer.
Learning to walk again. That’s what I want.