I've always wondered how Elijah went for forty days on the strength of some oatcakes baked by an angel. Food is one of the necessities of life, but also one of the recurring pleasures, and undoubtedly the right food at the right time is profound soul therapy.
So when I need a few hours on my own, or want to think, walk, pay attention to what's going on around me and inside me, a favourite place is the beach. And sometimes, not always, - occasionally not often, - I'll stop at my favourite cafe for an Elijah half hour. Being a good follower of Jahweh, Elijah didn't have the bacon roll, and wouldn't have milk with meat either. Still once the coffee and bacon roll arrive, there is the feeling that, once this is finished, I can walk in the strength of it for 40 minutes at least.
More seriously, walking by the sea is one of the places where the rhythms and steadiness of waves and tide, the wind whether breeze or gale, the sand soft or packed by the motion of the sea, combine in one of nature's most soothing orchestrations. The old scots word fankle, refers to what happens to wool once a cat gets a hold of it, or what happens to a silver chain taken off carelessly leaving it a recalcitrant clutter of knots. It's a good word, and sometimes it describes a particular state of mind. Walking with the wind in my face, the waves curling over and running for the shore, and with the sand smooth underfoot, is for me a way of unfankling my mind, disentangling trivial and crucial, restoring a sense of proportion to those worries that can undermine and overwhelm. Those rhythms of waves and walking work away at the soil of the soul until it's cultivated enough for new seeds of thought.
I'm not one for praying as I walk; unless walking is a kind of praying, which I suppose it is. After all following Jesus isn't mere metaphor, it has a referent in the real world of feet on the ground, even footprints in the sand! But the hymns I cherish and know by heart; the bible passages I've dwelt on so long they are part of my intellectrual breathing apparatus; memories and thoughts of people who are in my life, or have been and their memories remain as another kind of presence. Each of these makes for a well stored mind and an equally well stored heart. A long walk along the sea edge, preceded by a coffee and bacon roll. There is a spirituality of the favourite places, sounds and food!
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