Thursday, April 22, 2010

Streets and Roads

51 london path

I love paths that lead me to places that look interesting and fun. Roads that invite me to walk them because they might be holding on to secrets yet untold.

That's always been a part of my adult life. Going where no Randall Friesen has ever gone before. Wherever I've ended up living I've gone in search of paths to explore. Sometimes I would strike out on my own two feet and sometimes I'd bike to a good walking place. Better yet I'd drive back to a quiet street or path I'd passed earlier that week and it had looked inviting. I'd park the car and off I'd go, exploring the land.

Down those paths there are things to be seen, amazing things. And sounds and smells that trigger memories and make new ones.

Yes sometimes you walk and walk and only find a dead end and then you have to turn around and retrace your steps. But sometimes, just sometimes mind you, the path opens up to secrets and gardens just waiting for your presence. You sit midst the quiet and listen with your whole being, giving attention to the moment. Not running on ahead or making plans to bring a friend back to the place, but just being present to the moment.

Those are the moments in which you truly live. Without living in the past or pushing into the future those are the times when you are fully alive.

I wish for you many secret gardens and the grace to know when you are in one.

7 london center

6 comments:

  1. That first shot looks strangely familiar - and a long walk from the field...

    Hope you are finding new paths to wander and they are feeding your soul.

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  2. I agree with Barb about pic 1.

    Yup, walking into unknown places is one of the things that makes me want to visit new towns and cities, new countries and cultures.

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  3. Well back when I took the pictures there was no such thing as geo positioning but I took a look and this is the general area where I took the first shot.

    http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Highgate,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London+N6+6,+United+Kingdom&sll=52.96886,-113.366012&sspn=0.152386,0.321007&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fe7UEgMdgo79_w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Highgate,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.573962,-0.145923&spn=0.004941,0.010031&t=h&z=17

    The second image I know well. I took it in the back yard of this place.

    http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Highgate,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London+N6+6,+United+Kingdom&sll=52.96886,-113.366012&sspn=0.152386,0.321007&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fe7UEgMdgo79_w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Highgate,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.577363,-0.14128&spn=0.000309,0.000627&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=51.577363,-0.14128&panoid=mt6F2k43NTVozZbUfyqwVQ&cbp=12,141.82,,0,-0.39

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  4. I knew it was norf London - very much my old stamping ground. And I too have sat in that garden - small world

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  5. Very interesting. Enjoyed this blog very much. Great.

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  6. nice thoughtful stuff. i find i love exploring new places, esp. local ones. a short hike or bike into a park i have only seen from a street.
    thanks randall

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