On a recent early morning run along the side of a beautiful canal, a mist hung over the surface of it, and the atmosphere was chilled and eerie.

My face and hands, and fingers and thumbs were frozen, but the cool air was exhilarating as I ran along the straightened man-made path.

As I ran, I imagined the mist to be changed in form to steam.

I only knew it to be mist, because it was cold, but to look at it, I could easily imagine that it was steam.

Oh to jump in to the warm water and soak away my frozen skin.

This confusion and my imaginings over whether I was looking at mist or steam has helped  me to contextualize the inner dilemma of times and events in my life, when I have perceived something differently to its actual reality.

So often, I present myself in a given situation in  what I call “my old ways of thinking”, that is to say, rushing to a judgement, or an opinion, or a way of acting, without first taking the time to be curious, taking the time to explore, taking the time to play with my imaginings.

I knew all along that it was mist which hung over the canal, but somehow by imagining the cold air to be steam, I warmed my soul,  until soon enough, my fingers and thumbs were warming too.

My next blog will be: Resisting the Urge to Rearrange our Ornaments

William Defoe