UPDATE

So, it’s been awhile. I actually was not going to continue these updates, but people have asked me to keep updating or just explain what’s going on. I guess I just fell down and lost my way. I’m still finding my way but I’ve decided to incorporate updates into the journey . . . for you (well, not for you but the people that asked).

I’ve spent a lot of good time out in nature. In April I was sent to work in the Bay Area. I was able for the first time to sail and to do geocaching. It was a lot of fun. In May I went to the States for a graduation tour. Some of my students still keep in touch with me and it was amazing to see them graduate and see what they are doing with their lives. It was even more amazing to experience spring (my city is quite cold).

In June, I had to go the Bay Area again for a week for a workshop and then to Switzerland for another workshop week. Switzerland was amazing because I was able to go hiking and paragliding in the Alps. In July I was back in the Bay Area again to do some collaborative work with a dear friend whom I miss and to present two papers at a conference in Lake Tahoe. It was pretty nice because I happened to be in the States during their Independence celebrations so it was only a 3-day, working week in the Bay Area. Additionally I was able to go hiking again in the Cascades/Sierra Nevada, swim, and attempt to parasail (it was too windy). Not bad for a conference. People really liked the presentation and said that the style was helpful (I think a lot of the other presentations were a bit . . . drier). I was invited to join a working group throughout the year and everyone was pretty friendly to me. On my way back I stopped in Rotterdam to catch the North Sea Jazz Festival with my blessing of a friend, Maeve. Two of my schoolmates were performing and I was able to hear one of them perform.

In general, I’ve taken to taking walks each day through parks and somehow take a brief respite from the concrete cage I live in. If I’m able to simulate nature (the woods, the plains, the jungle, the mountains, the sea) in some way then I’m happy. Someone once told me that it is really good for people but another friend said it’s not a great therapeutic method. However, a professional told me it is a good method, that any thing you can do to release tension and lower your emotional levels is great. So I’m doing that now each day.

Other than that, there’s not much new going on. I’m taking a few classes, messing around on a few instruments, still working with ex-offenders. I still write and compose. I still work with non-profits around the world and especially in London. I still counsel at night. In fact, I’m currently doing post-abortion counseling. The centre with which I volunteer is quite happy because it’s the first male client for post-abortion counseling they have ever had. I don’t think it makes me happy (counseling rarely does) but I’m happy to be there for people. I’ve decided to take a break from things and go watch the migration across the Serengetti and Maasai Mara. I’ll let you know how it is.

In addition to some other exercise I do, I went to boxercising class this week and was sore for 4 days. I’m not sure what happened. The friend who invited me told me the class isn’t for old men. I said “Yeah, but I’m no----“   “Shhhhhh,” she said.