Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 3 degrees, windy, sunny and cold.
This morning, I’m writing my journal entry in the café/coffee shop as if I were doing the same at the Portuguese bakers in Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro.
It is where I did and now do 99.9% of my journal writing, away from the house and in a different, pleasant place. Is it because writing out of my home, in a pleasant place, represents a neutral, safe ambience where my thoughts are not influenced?
Or is it because when you regularly write in the same public place, it draws attention? People begin to ask questions, etc. This happened a few times in Brazil, but much more so here in England.
Are English people more inquisitive, nosier or just more sociable in trying to make conversation?
What I do know and have noticed is that a person writing for a long time in a shared public place does call attention, but do I need this attention or validation from others?
Is it essential for me?
It’s nice, but it doesn’t change anything in my life.
Could it be that now I don’t go out as much in the evenings, combined with the fact that I drink very little these days, my drinking habits have changed? Nowadays, I mainly consume coffee or tea in the morning instead of alcoholic drinks at night.
So, has my routine naturally been inverted? Instead of going out and staying up late, I’m now going to bed early, getting up early, and facing the day early. What was the main movement in the evenings or at night is now in the morning.
Or is it even a convenient way of fitting something into a more efficient routine? To go out for a walk and exercise, I can easily add my journal writing before going back home and starting work. It is a way of adding something more to two other productive things whilst at the same time minimising its labour intensity.
All I know is that I’m finding interesting ways to do work that could be seen as laborious or tedious, while also making it pleasant and efficient. Once I go out for a walk in the morning, I can exercise, have some contact with nature, and journal in a pleasant place all before beginning work.
How good is that?
I’m self-aware that I’m a morning person, thanks to my boxers, Bruce and Petra, who trained and taught me this. The day starts early, so I rise early. Every place in the world is more beautiful in the morning, and it’s not just because I live in Rio. I have always believed that the morning light is more golden, making everything appear more radiant; things look better in the morning.
I don’t understand how people can be so grumpy, slow, and unenthusiastic in the morning. To me, it logically represents that I am one more day alive. If I am alive, then I have one more day to do something good for myself and others, and that includes making changes to improve my life and the lives of those around me.
Life is a gift, and if you don’t know how to value and appreciate the gift that has been given to you, then I am truly sorry for you.
You are poor and lost!
I went to the café on the green, as I had mentioned before, early in the morning before the rush. My mother wanted me home early because she needed my help with some errands: going to the supermarket, the post office, taking a vacuum cleaner to be serviced, and a few other small tasks.
I asked my mother to drop me off in Brierley Hill, a small town not far from where she lives, which played a significant role in my childhood. Unfortunately, it has lost much of its former charm. The plan was for my mother to drop me off in Brierley Hill so I could run some errands and then walk back home, which is about 3 kilometres away. When we arrived in Brierley Hill, my mother suggested that we have tea and a sandwich at the local market. I accepted her suggestion, and then she left to drive back home.
After completing my errands, on the way back, I stopped by a local pub near my mother’s house and had a couple of glasses of wine before heading home.
In bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
