Friday, December 20, 2013

Blowing in the wind

Defiantly alive
London, ON
March 2012
Thematic. Treetops. Here.
Today was an interesting day of intense journalism. Multiple, tight deadlines for a fast-moving story (see here for more) overlapped an intense interview schedule that had me either doing live television from the kitchen, live, transatlantic radio from the car in the driveway, or driving through the fog to a studio. However you slice the day, it was epic.

As I was cruising toward one of my little dates with destiny, I noticed that some of the trees looming over the road looked something like the one in the photo here. They had long, willowy leaves that clearly had no intention of falling off. These autumn-refuseniks were tracing erratic, wavy patterns against the sky in a buffeting wind, defiant to the end.

I never know why something as trivial as a dried-out bunch of leaves on a tree can weasel its way into my mind when I probably should be thinking about, you know, the interview I'm about to blow because I was preoccupied with leaves. But I can't control what pops into my head, and on a remarkable day like today, when everything felt like it was clicking along as destiny felt it should, I wasn't about to challenge whatever forces of the universe were guiding me.

So with thoughts of windblown leaves in my head, I clipped myself in and did my thing. If anything, the leaves came in rather handy as I churned through a complex topic and tried to make sense of it for complete strangers across the country. Sometimes it's the little things we can't explain that keep us grounded.

2 comments:

Pat Tillett said...

I've lived my life with this problem. One day somebody told that it isn't a problem at all, but a blessing provided by our subconscious to keep us from over-thinking and/or stressing out over other things. Helping us to relax.

kenju said...

Ooh, I like what Pat said! I find my mind tripping about without my telling it to, and sometimes where it goes is wild!!

Carmi, thank you for reading my post and taking the trouble to make that comment and share with us. I agree wholeheartedly, and I am certain that child was taught by his parents - perhaps not directly - but certainly by their words and actions. How sad for all of us that prejudice continues to thrive.